WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – Shepherd University had 30 hits on the day en route to a doubleheader sweep over West Liberty in WVIAC baseball action at Kovalick Field on Friday. The Rams had a 17-7 victory in game one and added an 8-3 triumph in the nightcap. The pair of wins give Shepherd head coach Wayne Riser 500 victories for his career..

 

Clinging to a 7-4 lead, Shepherd scored six runs in the sixth inning in game one to pull away for the win. Sophomore pitcher Brandon Coffey (Manassas, VA/Osbourn) had a two-run triple and senior shortstop Nash Hutter (Sunland, CA/Verdugo Hills/Glendale CC), senior third baseman Travis Sluger (Germantown, MD/Williamsport/Hagerstown CC), and freshman outfielder Steve Ferguson (Martinsburg, WV/Martinsburg) each drove in a runs to highlight the rally.

 

The Rams added four more runs in the seventh with sophomore catcher Ryan Messina (St. James, NY/Smithtown East) smacking a two-run double to key the scoring outburst.

 

Junior second baseman Chad Murphy (North Olmsted, OH/North Olmsted) went 4-for-5 and drove in two runs, while Minnich was 3-for-3 with a solo homer, two RBIs, and four runs scored. Messina, Hutter, Coffey, and Ferguson each added a pair of hits.

 

Josh Nagel and Taylor Snare each had three hits and drove in a pair of runs for the Hilltoppers.

 

Coffey (5.0 IP, 9 H, 0 k, 2 BB, 3 ER) picked up the win to improve to 3-2. Jared Taylor took the loss for the Hilltoppers.

 

Minnich went 4-for-4 with a three-run homer to pace the Rams in the nightcap. Sophomore outfielder Michael Lott (Woodbridge, VA/Woodbridge) went 3-for-5 with a pair of runs scored, while Murphy and Coffey each had a pair of hits.

 

Mike Johnson went 3-for-4 and scored a pair of runs to lead West Liberty.

 

Sophomore pitcher Trevor Appleby (Chambersburg, PA/Chambersburg) (7.0 IP, 4 Ks, 1 BB, 7 H, 1 ER) gained a complete game win to improve to 4-3 on the year. Drew Peterson took the loss for West Liberty.

Shepherd improves to 21-11, 13-4 in WVIAC play, while West Liberty falls to 6-18, 4-11. The two teams return to action on Saturday at West Liberty for a 1 p.m. contest.

Notes: Minnich became the Shepherd all-time career leader in runs batted in. He now has 185 for his career, surpassing the old mark of 179 set by Charlie Drummond (2001-04). Minnich went 7-for-7 on the day with a pair of homers, six RBIs, and six runs scored.