GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Fairmont State softball team won a trio of games this weekend at the MEC/PSAC Challenge in Glenville, W.Va. The set of Falcons victories included a win versus No. 5 Seton Hill along with Slippery Rock and Indiana (Pa.).
 
Game One – Fairmont State 5, Slippery Rock 4
After the Falcons gave up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first, Peyton Wetherholt cranked a solo home run to get the Falcons on the board in the top of the second. The Rock tacked on a run in the bottom hat and held a 3-1 lead after three innings. Elizabeth Waskiewic ripped a single to right field to drive in Wetherholt to put the Falcons within one run after four innings of play.
 
In the top of the sixth, Shelby Reed knocked in Mackenzie Maddy on an RBI groundout to tie the score at three. Hannah Workman led the seventh inning off with a base hit to the shortstop. Emily Riggs blasted a deep home run and put the Falcons ahead for the first time all game, 5-3. Caitlyn Kassay recorded the final three outs in the bottom half of the seventh to give the Falcons a 5-4 win to start the weekend.
 
Kassay went the distance and punched out five while allowing just three earned runs and five hits. Wetherholt scored two runs and went 1-for-1 at the dish. Riggs and Workman both totaled three hits each, with Riggs compiling a double and a home run.
 
Game Two – Fairmont State 3, No. 5 Seton Hill 2 (8 inn.)
The Falcons struck first when Myaih Cloud rocked a triple that scored Riggs to give the Falcons an early 1-0 lead. The Griffins tied the game in the third inning with an RBI base hit. Emma Gates kept the Griffins off the board and the game was knotted at one after seven innings of play.
 
Seton Hill scratched across a run in the top half of the eighth and the Falcons trailed by a run going into the final half of the eighth. Mikayla Moore advanced Mackenzie Maddy to third base on a sacrifice bunt the start the inning. Ally Maddy drove her sister in on an RBI single to tie the game at 2. Alexa Andrews kept the momentum going with a hit that sent Ally Maddy to second. With two outs, Riggs stepped up to the plate with a chance to end the game. Riggs once again came through with the game-winning RBI single and the Falcons walked off the Griffins and handed the No. 5 ranked team in the country its first defeat of the season.
 
Gates allowed one earned run over 7.2 innings of work and struck out five batters while allowing four hits. Fairmont State totaled six hits, with half coming in the final inning.
 
Game Three- Fairmont State 8, IUP 2
Andrews wasted no time to start the offensive production as she clubbed a home run to left center field to start the game for the Falcons. Workman kept things going with an infield single and Riggs stayed hot with a double to center field. Workman scored after Cloud reached first on an error to make the score 2-0 Falcons. Abbie Keilholz scored Riggs on an RBI single to left field and the Falcons led 3-0 with no outs after five batters. Wetherholt walked to load the bases. The Falcons added a trio of runs from a fielder's choice, an error and a wild pitch and led 6-0 after one inning.
 
Wetherholt crossed home plate for the Falcons' seventh run on an error to put Fairmont State ahead 7-0. Cloud belted a home run to deep left field to make it eight unanswered runs for the Falcons. The Crimson Hawks managed to score two runs in the fifth but the Falcons' early offensive burst guided the team to its third win of the weekend.
 
Andrews and Riggs both finished with two hits and Cloud drove in two runs. The Falcons swiped three bags, with Andrews, Mackenzie Maddy and Judeah Morris all recording a stolen base. Emma Gates collected her third win of the season after tossing four innings and allowing one earned run. Ally Maddy finished the game with three innings while allowing one run.
 
Game Four – Clarion 8, Fairmont State 0 (5 inn.)
Riggs added another extra-base hit to her impressive weekend in the first inning but the Falcons were unable to push her across the plate to take an early lead. Reed sat the Clarion hitters down in order in the bottom of the first inning. Both teams were unable to generate any hits in the second inning and the game remained scoreless.
 
Morris punched a single to right field with one out in the third and stole second and moved to third on an error with two outs. The Falcons could not come up with a base knock to drive home Morris and were held scoreless in the third. Clarion capitalized on four hits in the bottom of the third and took a 5-0 lead after three. Keilholz singled in the fourth but the Falcons came up empty in the run column. Clarion added three runs in the fourth. Gia Woods reached first base on an infield hit with one out in the fifth. Morris slapped a hit down the left field line to put runners at first and second with one out. After a fielder's choice, Workman singled to first base to score Morris to put the Falcons on the board. Clarion scored the game-winning run in the fifth inning with two outs and won 9-1 in five innings.
 
Up Next
The Fairmont State softball team will play in its home opener on Tuesday (Feb. 28) at Duvall-Rosier Field versus Malone. The doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m.