The Basics
Fairmont State softball, the defending Mountain East Conference Tournament Champions, is gearing up for the MEC Tournament and will begin postseason play on Friday (May 5) versus #4S Glenville State at 2:30 p.m. from Botetourt Sports Complex in Troutville, Va.
 
All games will be streamed on MEC TV and live stats will be provided by the conference on the MEC Softball Championship Central page. Fans can purchase tickets at this link.
 
Fighting Falcons Facts

• Following a historic season and winning the school's first Mountain East Conference Tournament Championship in 2022, the Fairmont State softball team achieved 31 wins in the regular season which is the most wins in program history since 2014. The Falcons made school history after clinching the MEC North Division after a 21-11 conference record, which marked the first time in program history Fairmont State won the MEC North Division.
• Fairmont State went 16-4 in games played at Duvall-Rosier Field. The Falcons finished their home slate on a nine-game winning streak. The stretch included a pair of walk-offs for the Falcons. Abbie Keilholz lifted a game-winning sacrifice fly to edge Frostburg State 6-5 and Courtney Moyer hit a walk-off single in the 10th inning to give Fairmont State a 4-3 win over Glenville State.
• After earning All-MEC First Team honors and being named MEC Tournament MVP in 2022, Emily Riggs led Fairmont State with a .393 batting average and powered 16 doubles, 8 home runs and 38 RBIs. The infielder from Bridgeport, W.Va. leads the MEC in doubles (16) and is second in on-base percentage (.486). Riggs was named MEC Player of the Week on March 6 after she belted three home runs in the Fairmont State sweep versus Malone on Feb. 28.
• Including Riggs, four Fairmont State starters hit north of .300 in the regular season. Hannah Workman started all 52 games and led the Falcons with 62 hits and hit .390. Dual-sport athlete Katy Darnell (basketball & softball) hit .381 and racked up 50 total bases in 31 games. Alexa Andrews finished the regular season with 13 extra-base hits and led the Falcons with five triples to go along with a .331 batting average. Andrews ranked second in the conference in triples. Peyton Wetherholt lifted four home runs and 10 doubles and hit .308 in her sophomore season.
• Freshman pitcher Emma Gates leads the Falcons' pitching staff with 21 starts and has gone 13-4 in her first collegiate season. The Hubbard, Ohio native has pitched 110.2 innings and has struck out 40 batters. Gates is one of the most accurate pitchers in the country and has the fourth-fewest walks allowed per seven innings rate (0.51) in the nation and leads the MEC. She has been named MEC Pitcher of the Week two times this season (Feb. 13 & March 27).
• Senior pitchers Caitlyn Kassay and Shelby Reed have contributed a combined 28 starts for Fairmont State. Kassay leads the Falcons with 63 punchouts to go along with seven complete games. The Fairview, W.Va. native was named MEC Pitcher of the Week on April 24 after allowing one run in two complete game victories versus West Liberty & Wheeling. Shelby Reed has tossed 61.2 innings pitched and has made 20 appearances in her senior season. The Conway, Ark. native pitched a complete game versus D&E on March 16 and was named MEC Pitcher of the Week on March 20.
• Fairmont State softball ranks second in the MEC with 93 stolen bases. Freshman Judeah Morris went a perfect 25-for-25 in stolen base attempts to lead the charge. The freshman from Columbus, Ohio ranked second in the conference with 0.58 stolen bases per game. Workman (19) and Darnell (11) finished with double-digit stolen base totals.
• Freshman power-hitting duo of Abbie Keilholz and Myaih Cloud combined to hit eight home runs. Keilholz hit the second-highest RBI total of the team (28) and Cloud has smacked eight extra-base hits.
• Fairmont State Softball Head Coach Brooke Sullivan Led the Falcons to 31 wins in the regular season in her first season guiding the program, which is the most wins in program history since 2014. The Falcons clinched the MEC North Division after a 21-11 conference record, which marked the first time in program history the Falcons finished the season as MEC North Champions.

 
Scouting Glenville State
The Pioneers qualified for the MEC Tournament for the first time in school history after finishing 15-17 in conference play and placing fourth in the MEC South. As a team, the Pioneers rank second in the conference in team fielding percentage (.962) and third in team earned run average (3.02).
 
Pitcher Holly Brehm leads the MEC in complete games (19) and strikeouts (191). She ranks second in the league in hits allowed per seven innings (5.01) and strikeouts per seven innings (8.3). Kylie Burdick, a freshman from Cincinnati, Ohio, has the most wins (12) out of the three GSU pitchers. Senior Ashton Palmer is the top hitter for the Pioneers and hit .336 in 40 starts. Katelyn Richardson, a senior catcher from Princeton, W.Va., hit a team-high 22 RBIs in the regular season and hit six extra-base hits.
 
Sara Scoone is in her third season at the helm of Glenville State softball. Scoone played for West Virginia Wesleyan and helped the Bobcats reach the 2018 World Series after hitting .320 as a catcher.
 
Regular Season Series Versus Glenville State
Game 1 – Fairmont State 4, Glenville State 3 (10 inn.)
 
Glenville State started with a run in the first inning after a wild pitch with a runner on third base. Pioneers' pitcher, Holly Brehm, managed a successful first two innings including 5 strikeouts which was ended by an at-bat by Abbie Keilholz. In the second inning, Keiholz hit a home run to even things up between the opposing sides. The longball was the fifth homer of her rookie campaign at Fairmont State.
 
In the top of the fourth inning, Glenville State reclaimed their lead with a base hit while the bases were loaded to make the score 2-1. Katy Darnell doubled down the left field line in the bottom of the fifth to lift the Fairmont State offense. Hannah Workman followed suit with a double to score Darnell to once again even the score for the Falcons.
 
After seven innings, the score was still tied 2-2. Both pitchers threw all seven innings, with Caitlyn Kassay claiming two strikeouts, and Glenville State's Brehm putting in 13 strikeouts. Kassay kept the Pioneers off the scoreboard with a strikeout as the third out in the top of the eighth inning. With two outs in the eighth, Peyton Wetherholt and Myaih Cloud would hit back-to-back singles to right field. Moyer walked on five pitches to load the bases for the Fighting Falcons. Fairmont State was unable to score the winning run, and the game continued in extra innings.
 
Starting the tenth inning with a runner on second base, the Pioneers advanced the runner to third on a sac bunt. Following an RBI base hit to right field, Glenville State put up a run on the board to make the score 3-2. The Fighting Falcons would get out of the top of the tenth with a fielder's choice at third made by Moyer to Wetherholt.
 
Darnell started at second for Fairmont State. Workman earned a sacrifice bunt for Darnell to rotate to third base. FSU runners would be on first and third after Wetherholt walked on her at bat. The Pioneers bounced a wild pitch to score Darnell to tie the score with the winning run on second base in Wetherholt. Moyer walked off an RBI to score Wetherholt home to win the first game of the doubleheader 4-3.
 
Kassay went the distance and earned the win in the 10-inning game with three strikeouts. Darnell batted in two runs with one hit on five at-bats. Workman and Keilholz grabbed one RBI each.
 
Game 2 – Fairmont State 5, Glenville State 4
 
A successful first two innings offense lifted the Pioneers including two doubles and a single in the first inning, Fairmont State would concede a 2-0 deficit. Glenville State's success continued into the second inning as a runner on third was able to steal home. Shortly after, a Pioneer batter singled to send a runner home to make the score 4-0. During the second inning, Ally Maddy came in to relieve Shelbie Reed in the circle.
 
In the bottom of the second, Darnell got the offense started with a triple that brought in Mackenzie Maddy. To make the score 4-1. With Darnell and Workman on third and second bases, Wetherholt lifted the Fairmont State offense and tied the ball game with a three-RBI homer. Cloud walked where Morris would step in to pinch run, where Morris managed to steal her way to third base. Moyer reached first base off a fielder's choice, where Morris was caught at home plate for the second out of the inning. Andrews would earn a triple that would score Moyer for the 5-4 lead after being held scoreless otherwise.
 
Despite a strong offensive effort by the Pioneers in the fifth and sixth innings, Fairmont State was able to keep GSU off the scoreboard. Andrews' triple would be the difference in the second leg of the doubleheader, which completed the sweep against Glenville State.
 
Ally Maddy performed well in the circle for 5 innings with zero runs allowed. This led to Maddy's first win of the season. Workman, Wetherholt, and Andrews all swung for two hits each. Wetherholt recorded three RBI during the second game of action.
 
Fairmont State's 2023 Record Versus the Tournament Field
#1S Charleston: (0-2)
#2S West Virginia Wesleyan: (1-1)
#3S Davis & Elkins: (1-1)
#4S Glenville State: (2-0)
#2N Notre Dame: (2-2)
#3N Frostburg State: (3-1)
#4N West Liberty: (3-1)