BRIDGEPORT, West Virginia - Although thunderstorms threatened to alter the Saturday schedule for Salem Softball, the Tigers were able to eke out a pair of contests against the West Liberty Hilltoppers at The Bridge Sports Complex. Salem played well enough to secure a victory in Game 1, but were overcome in the second contest by a tough Hilltopper squad. Each game played out as follows:

Salem 2, West Liberty 0

For the first contest, it quickly settled into a pitching duel between Salem's Kendall Lemley and West Liberty's Leah Alford. The Tigers were able to muster just 2 hits off of Alford in the contest, but they were enough to take a 2-0 in the fourth. Brooke Wise added the first with a single that loaded the bases, and then Kendall Lemley provided her own run support by driving in a pair of runs shortly thereafter. Lemley then protected the lead down the stretch to seal a complete game shutout win for the Tigers. 

West Liberty 6, Salem 1

In Game 2, the West Liberty offense came to life first, and put the Tigers in a tough spot with 5 runs in the 4th. Salem battled back and built the beginnings of a rally in the 6th when a Kylie Zinn double brought in Kaydee Anderson to get the Tigers on the board. Unfortunately, that is where the offensive output would dry up for Salem, and West Liberty pulled away with the 6-1 win. In the circle, starter Brooke Wise, Franchesca Alvaro, and Destiny Coble combined for a pair of strikeouts in the contest.

The split today should give Salem something to build off of going into their next contest. Weather permitting, that contest is currently set to take place on Sunday, March 16th at 1 PM when the Tigers welcome the Wheeling Cardinals to The Bridge Sports Complex.