WEST LIBERTY, West Virginia - After blustery conditions made play impossible at the Hilltopper Softball Complex last week, the Salem softball team had their doubleheader with the West Liberty Hilltoppers moved to Wednesday afternoon. Salem had two tough games on their hands, and came up just short in both contests in dramatic fashion. Those games played out as follows:

West Liberty 8, Salem 6

For Game 1, Salem got off to a great start. They conceded one run to West Liberty in the first, but they responded 4 of their own in the second. The first came in when Sierra Chapa walked with the bases loaded to bring in Jazmyn Moetului. Eliana Esteban then tripled to clear the bases and bring in 3 runs. The Tigers got one more after that off of a Syriah Trujillo RBI single. In response, the Hilltoppers brought in 5 runs in the 3rd and 5th innings to take a one run lead. The Tigers knotted the game back up in the 6th when Alyvia Pittman scored off of a Sierra Chapa popout. Unfortunately, the game concluded in the bottom of the 7th when the Hilltoppers had a walk-off home run to win the game 8-6. In the pitcher's circle, Andrea Gallegos and Meesha Arroyo provided a combined 2 strikeouts in the contest.

West Liberty 5, Salem 4

For Game 2, neither team found much offensive success until the 4th inning. It was the Tigers who broke the deadlock with a Ricki Garay RBI single in the 4th. However, the Hilltoppers scored in the next 3 innings to make the score 5-1. That put the Tigers at a 4 run deficit headed into the final inning of the day. Desperate for a rally, they started just that. Sierra Chapa stole second, and Meesha Arroyo stole home on the same play to add the first run. Eliana Esteban then singled to bring in Chapa to continue the Tiger's rally. It continued with a Syriah Trujillo double that scored Esteban to bring the Tigers within one run. However, with Trujillo on third, Salem could maintain the rally, and the dramatic comeback bid fell just short. In the pitcher's circle, Andrea Gallegos pitched a complete game, and struck out 2 in 6 innings pitched.

While losing 2 in such dramatic fashion can be tough, Salem will be able to get back on track when they continue their road trip on March 9th at 2 PM when they head down to Athens, West Virginia to take on the Concord Mountain Lions.