WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. -- Fairmont State and West Liberty battled to a hard-fought split on Friday afternoon in Mountain East Conference Northern Division action at Kovalick Field in West Liberty.
With the split, the teams remain in tie for second-place in the MEC North. In addition, Fairmont State clinched its first-ever berth in the upcoming MEC Tournament with its 11-9 win in game one.
Fairmont's last playoff appearance came back in 2013 as a member of the WVIAC.
In game one with Fairmont State trailing 5-4 entering the top of the sixth, the Falcons scored four runs in the sixth and three in the seventh to close out the 11-9 victory.
In the sixth inning,
Tyler Krantz tied the game with a triple to left field that brought
Johnny Kesling across home plate.
Ted Sova,
Ben Myers and
Austin Norman also drove in runs in the sixth, giving FSU a three-run lead in an inning that included five hits and a WLU error.
However, WLU got back within a single run in bottom of the sixth with a pair of runs, sending the game to the seventh inning with FSU holding an 8-7 advantage.
In the seventh, the Falcons added three more runs, including a solo home run by Kesling to give FSU enough breathing room to close out the win in the seventh. In addition to Kesling's home run,
Tyler Hill scored on a wild pitch and Myers drove in another run on an RBI single.
WLU plated two more runs in the bottom half of the inning before FSU got the final out to open the series with a win.
The Falcons overcame early errors in game one by totaling 15 hits, compared to just eight for the Hilltoppers.
In game two, West Liberty scored eight unanswered runs after Fairmont State took a 4-3 lead to grab control in the second game of the day. The Hilltoppers used 15 hits and scored 13 runs in the victory to even the series at a win apiece.
After totaling 15 hits in the first game of the day, FSU managed just six in game two (including doubles by
Troy Kifer, Myers and Kesling).
FSU and WLU will wrap up the series with games three and four on Saturday afternoon. The first game of the day is set for a noon start at Kovalick Field.
