FAIRMONT, West Virginia - With tough early spring weather shifting the Tigers weekend plans back a day, Salem finally got a chance to get back on the field on Sunday afternoon for a rematch against the Falcons of Fairmont State. Salem fell to the Falcons in Bridgeport earlier in the year, and were looking to enact some revenge on the Falcons home turf in Bridgeport. However, a resurgent offensive attack for Salem was not enough to pull away with a victory in the rivalry game grudge match. Each contest of the doubleheader played out as follows:
Fairmont State 6, Salem 5
In Game 1, the Tigers wasted no time getting the offense going. They opened the contest with a run from Sierra Chapa reaching home off a Falcon wild pitch. However, Fairmont State responded with 4 runs in the bottom of the first, and then a pair of runs in the bottom of the second. The Tigers needed a spark, and then finally found it in the top of the 6th. They got things going with a pair of singles from Kayla Williams and Meladie LaRance. Then, Alyvia Pittman knocked a double to bring both of her teammates in. The Tigers kept the momentum going with a Charlee Johnson single to score Pittman shortly thereafter. The final run of the inning was scored by Ricki Garay, when the Tigers executed a double steal play with Brooke Wise. Unfortunately, Salem could not build up that rally any further, and went away with the tight 6-5 loss. The pitching duties for the Tigers were handled by starter Andrea Gallegos and reliever Brooke Wise, who combined to punch out 5 Falcons batters.
Fairmont State 11, Salem 10
In Game 2, the offensive fireworks were on full display. The Tigers got started immediately as Meladie LaRance and Kaydee Anderson each added 2 RBI doubles in the first inning. Syriah Trujillo added a RBI single then scored on a Falcon error, and the Tigers held a 6-0 after the first half inning. The Falcons added 4 runs of their own in the 2nd and 3rd, but the Tigers kept up the energy level with a Charlee Johnson RBI double to bring in Meladie LaRance and make it 7-4 in the 4th. The Falcons responded again with another run in the 4th as well, so Salem needed another rally to keep control of the contest. They found just that in the 5th when an RBI double from Kayla Williams and a 2 RBI single from Ricki Garay pushed the Tiger advantage up to 10-5. Unfortunately, the rest of the contest featured a heartbreaking Fairmont State comeback in the 6th and 7th innings, and the Tigers were sent home with a 11-10 loss in Game 2. In the pitcher's circle for Salem, Kendall Lemley, Andrea Gallegos, and Brook Wise all featured for the Tigers, and they combined to strike out a pair of Fairmont State hitters in the contest.
While today's result did not go the Salem way, there is ample opportunity for the Tigers to right the ship this week. They head up to Frostburg State on Monday, April 8th at 11 AM for a doubleheader that was originally slated for Saturday, April 6th but had to be shifted due to weather.
