TROUTVILLE, Va. – Davis & Elkins and Fairmont State went 2-0 on the opening day of the 2023 Mountain East Conference Softball Championship on Friday and will meet on Saturday at 2 p.m. with a spot in the championship game on the line. The winner’s bracket final will be played on field three at Botetourt Sports Complex on Saturday.
The Senators, the third seed in the south division, upset second-seeded (North) Notre Dame College and top-seeded (South) Charleston on Friday. In their first game of the day, Davis & Elkins broke a 2-2 tie in the top of the eighth inning and picked up a 4-2 victory over NDC in extra inning. Later in the evening, the Senators opened up a 4-1 lead after five innings against UC, before having to hold off a late surge by the Golden Eagles to lock up the 4-3 victory. Honesty Holt drove in two runs for the Senators, while Linzey Allard and Maddie Lavelle each drove in one.
Fairmont State’s day began with a 3-1 win over Glenville State. In the nightcap for the Falcons, West Virginia Wesleyan took control early and led 2-0 after five innings or play. Andie Dizon and Alli Robinson each drove in runs for the Bobcats in the first inning. Abbie Keiholz made the score 2-1 in the six on an RBI single down the right field line that scored Courtney Moyer from third. In the bottom of the seventh, Alexa Andrews drove in the game-tying run for Fairmont State, while Keiholz drove in the game-winner to give the Falcons the walk-off win.
Saturday’s action will get underway with a pair of elimination games. On field three, Notre Dame will take on West Virginia Wesleyan, while Glenville State and Charleston will meet on field one.
After dropping their opening game in extra innings to Davis & Elkins, Notre Dame advanced to Saturday with a 1-0 win over West Liberty on Friday evening. The Falcons advanced on a walk-off RBI single by Mia Cipriano. West Virginia Wesleyan began the day with a 7-3 win over Frostburg State, before falling late to Fairmont State. Wesleyan’s win over Frostburg State was headlined by a grand slam by Morgan Norris in the bottom of the fourth.
After dropping its tournament opener to Fairmont State, Glenville State advanced to Saturday with a 5-2 win over Frostburg State. The Pioneers led 5-0 before surrendering a pair of late runs to FSU in the seventh. Glenville’s Kylie Burdick improved to 13-8 on the season after carrying a shutout into the seventh inning for the Pioneers.
GSU’s opponent Charleston also advanced to Saturday with a 1-1 day on Friday. UC began the day with a 5-0 win over West Liberty, which was headlined by a two-hit shutout from Brianna McCown.
For complete coverage of the 2023 MEC Softball Championship, visit Championship Central at MountainEast.org.