FAIRMONT, W.Va. -- A day after the Cardinals took over the top spot in the MEC North softball standings following a sweep of Shepherd, Fairmont State took two from division-leading Wheeling Jesuit, 2-1, 6-5, on Sunday afternoon at Duvall-Rosier Field.
Fairmont, who played its first home games of the season against the Cardinals, improved to 11-17 overall and 4-6 in the league. The Falcons host West Liberty on Monday afternoon in another MEC North doubleheader that was postponed from Saturday because of wet field conditions.
WJU fell to an even 13-13 overall and 7-7 in the MEC.
Trailing 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning in game one, Fairmont's
Whitley Mongan drilled a double deep into right center to help
Taylor Wells and
Jenny Stubbs score from second and third, respectively. Both runners were in scoring position because of a timely double into left field by
Beth Cook.
Holding a 2-1 lead, Fairmont State stranded three runners in the final two innings to hold off the Cardinals and take the opening half of the doubleheader.
Rachel Bias (6-9) out-dueled Wheeling ace Mallory Chapman on the mound, as both pitchers went the distance. FSU did not allow an extra base hit in the win, limiting each of Wheeling's eight hits to a single base. Mongan, Cook and
Addie Fullen each hit doubles in game one.
In the second game of the day, FSU scored six runs in the first two innings to grab a commanding lead, then held off the Cardinals for the 6-5 win late.
Fairmont State wasted little time getting the scoring started in game two, as
Samantha Hoban stole home on a double steal with
Abbi Fetty to give FSU a 1-0 advantage. During the next at-bat for FSU, Fullen singled into center field to drive home Fetty from second base.
Abby Burgess made the score 4-0 on a two-run home run into left field later in the inning.
FSU added two more runs in the second inning, including a triple by Fetty that drove in Hoban and then an error during Fullen's at-bat allowed Fetty to cross home plate for the second time in the game.
Wheeling Jesuit cut the Fairmont lead to just a pair of runs by scoring four in the third inning, then made it a one-run game in the sixth on an RBI single. However, FSU held off the Cards by recording three-straight outs in the seventh.
Only four of the combined 11 runs in game two were earned as both teams committed a pair of errors.
Fairmont recorded six extra-base hits and stole four bases in the doubleheader sweep. Wheeling recorded just one extra-base hit on the afternoon.
