BOLWING GREEN, Ky. -- Belmont Softball was unable to overcome a slow start on the road on Wednesday evening. The Bruins (2-11) fell at Western Kentucky (19-4), 10-0, in five innings of play.
WKU was first to get on the scoreboard in the bottom of the second frame with a two-out rally. With the help of a walk, a triple and a long single, the Hilltoppers were able to put across three runs to take an early lead.
Belmont looked to spark its own rally in the top of the next inning with a double into the right gap by junior Cheyenne Cavanaugh (Spring, Texas). However, the Bruins were unable to get her over the plate. The home team then added two more runs in the bottom of the third to take a 5-0 lead.
The Hilltoppers exploded in their half of the fourth inning, separating from BU for good. A solo homerun opened the floodgates as WKU went on to pile on five additional runs to grab a 10-0 advantage.
Belmont looked to rally late with freshman Abi Ledbetter (Livingston, Tenn.) and Cavanaugh both reaching base with consecutive walks in the top of the fifth. However, the pair were stranded as BU fell by the same score.
For the night, Cavanaugh and senior Brooklin Lee (Burns, Tenn.) both went 1-for-2 at the plate.
Duty inside the circle was split between Lee and junior Autumn McDanel (Moravia, Iowa). Lee posted one strikeout in the contest.
Belmont returns to action this weekend at the UofM Tournament hosted by the University of Memphis, March 6-8.
