CHARLESTON, WV – Charleston Softball won it's first conference game of the season with a split with the West Liberty Hilltoppers on Saturday afternoon. Haleigh Christopher hit her 21st career homerun as the Golden Eagles move to 14-10, 1-5 in MEC play. 

Just the Basics
GAME 1: Charleston 3, Hilltoppers 2
GAME 2: Hilltoppers 7, Charleston 6
TEAM RECORDS Charleston (14-10, 1-5), West Liberty (9-9, 3-5)

How it Happened 
GAME 1: 
In the top of the second inning Janey Schmidt singled to the left side allowing Haleigh Christopher to score giving the Golden Eagles the 1-0 lead. Schmidt quickly stole second base and allowed Emily Dutton to score for UC. 
Kelly Mullins hit a double to left field in the bottom of the second sending Skylar Minzler home for the Hilltoppers. 

In the top of the fourth, Karli Pinkerton doubled to to left field allowing Kendall Marshall to score for Charleston. In the bottom of the seventh Kelsi Johnson reached on an error by the UC third baseman sending Katie Beeman home to bring the score to 3-2 in favor of the Golden Eagles. Charleston would take game one 3-2 from the Hilltoppers. 

GAME 2: 
Neither team could get the bats going during the first two innings, but the Golden Eagles got on the board first after an error by the WLU shortstop. West Liberty answered in the bottom of the third with a two-run homer by Kat Donzella. 

UC took the 5-2 lead in the in the top of the fourth. In the bottom of the fifth, West Liberty scored on an error by Charleston's third baseman. A four-run sixth inning gave the Hilltoppers the 7-5 advantage over the Golden Eagles going into the seventh inning. In the top of the seventh Haleigh Christopher hit her 21st career homerun cutting the WLU lead to just a single run, but unable to tie it up the Hilltoppers took the victory in game two, 7-6.

Up Next
The Golden Eagles will travel to Wheeling on Monday for a double header against the Cardinals.