It took only two pitches for West Liberty to take the lead in Wednesday’s game versus the Ashland University baseball team.

West Liberty (15-7) would not surrender that lead for the rest of the day, as the Hilltopers held on for a 9-8 win over the Eagles (13-9) at Donges field, despite a furious AU comeback.

West Liberty got on the board in the first inning. DJ Busby laced a single on the first pitch Pat Carlozzi (2-1) fired, and came around to score just one pitch later on a Vincet Haddox double. Before Carlozzi could escape the top half of the first, two more runs crossed the plate to give the Hilltoppers a 3-0 lead.

West Liberty pushed their lead to 7-0 after two innings of play before AU finally got one back in the third on a Mackenzie Hampshire RBI groundout that plated Mike Lewandowski. The Hilltoppers immediately responded with two runs in the top half of the fourth, increasing their lead to 9-1 after four innings.

“We didn’t pitch very well in the first two innings,” said Ashland head coach John Schaly to the AU athletic department. “We mounted a comeback, just dug ourselves too big a hole.”

The AU comeback began in the fifth as Lance Myers started the rally with a single and Greg Ludwig followed with a towering homerun over the centerfield fence. Hampshire then singled and moved to second a wild pitch before coming around to score on a JP Sorma RBI single. The Eagles’ three runs made the score 9-4 in favor of West Liberty. 

The Eagles tacked on two more runs in the sixth as Lewandowski and Myers both walked to put runners on first and second. Ludwig earned another RBI, as he singled into left field, scoring Lewandowski and putting runners on the corners. Hampshire then flew out to centerfield for a sacrifice fly that pulled the Eagles within three at 9-6 after six innings.

AU got even closer in the seventh, as Eric Hansman walked and moved to second on a wild pitch. Catcher Adam Vasil drove in Hansman with an RBI single that cut the Eagle deficit to 9-7 after seven frames.

Trailing 9-7 heading into the bottom of the ninth, the Eagles inched even closer after a one out Sorma homerun. Sorma’s third round-tripper of the year brought AU to within one at 9-8. The comeback could not be completed as the game ended on back-to-back strikeouts that allowed West Liberty to hold on and survive.

Schaly credited his team for finding a way to get the tying run to the plate after trailing by as many as eight runs.

“Our guys aren’t going to quit,” Schaly said to the AU athletic department. “We had a chance. We got the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning.”

The loss snapped AU’s five game winning streak. The Eagles will have a chance to return to their winning ways on Saturday as AU hosts Grand Valley State for a doubleheader.