DEFINING MOMENT, DEFINING SUCCESS

CU CLAIMS WVIAC CHAMPIONSHIP, OPENS REGIONAL PLAY FRIDAY

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The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines “long shot” as “a venture involving great risk but promising a great reward if successful; also, a venture unlikely to succeed” and “an entry (as in a horse race) given little chance of winning.”

It defines “champion” as “a winner of first prize or first place in competition; also, one who shows marked superiority.”

The West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference says, in baseball bylaw 4.1.2, “The Conference champion will be the winner of the post season playoff.”

All very accurate definitions of the Concord Mountain Lions.

Concord capped its improbable run through the WVIAC Tournament by defeating West Virginia State, 13-7, in the championship game Sunday afternoon in Beckley, WV.

The Mountain Lions – who didn't know until the final day of the regular season whether they'd even qualify for the tournament – earn the WVIAC's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament, which will start next Friday with the Atlantic Regional playoffs in Lancaster, PA.

The WVIAC title is the third in Concord history, following championship seasons in 1961 and 2001.

Concord will be seeded 6th in the six-team Atlantic Regional and will open against top-seeded Millersville University (PA).
Other first-round regional matchups will have #2 Mercyhurst (PA) against #5 Winston-Salem State (NC), and #3 Seton Hill -- out of the WVIAC -- against #4 East Stroudsburg (PA).
The regional tournament will have a double-elimination format.

(To watch a replay of Sunday night's "Selection Show" on ncaa.com, click here.)

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CU had to win eight of its last 11 regular season games to eke into this year's WVIAC Tournament as the fourth and final seed in the Southern Division. But once the Mountain Lions got to Linda K. Epling Stadium, they were superior.
Concord defeated defending champion Seton Hill, South Division runner-up Davis & Elkins and North Division #3 Wheeling Jesuit in sweeping to the Pool #1 title, then dispatched the rival Yellow Jackets to claim the champion's trophy.

CU had fallen behind early in each of its pool play games, but broke form Sunday afternoon by erupting for seven runs off WVSU starting pitcher Rusty Thompson in the top of the 1st inning.

The first six hitters reached base. Randy Beard singled, and moved to third when Keith Morrisroe got on by an error on SS Eric Craft. Jacob Mays hit an infield single that bounced off 2B Zach Bukiewicz, with Beard scoring and Morrisroe hustling to third.

Josh Wenger crushed the first pitch he saw (left) for a three-run home run over the wall in left-center field that gave CU a 4-0 lead.

Nick Sydnor then crushed the first pitch he saw for a double off the wall in right. Bret Blevins drove in Sydnor with a single, and stole second. Thompson retired the next two batters, only to see Ian Humphrey renew the Concord onslaught with an RBI single up the middle.

That chased Thompson and brought in reliever Jeremy Goodall. Beard greeted the newcomer with another single, and Morrisroe drove in Humphrey with a single to right.

CU would extend its lead to 8-0 when Sydnor led off the 2nd inning with home run.

West Virginia State then started chipping away. The Yellow Jackets broke through against Concord starting pitcher Brandon Proctor on Joey Jobst's RBI double in the bottom of the 3rd; they added three more runs in the 4th on Billy Smith's run-scoring single and Rob Hawkins' two-out, two-run double.

Blevins led off the 5th with a solo home run (right) to push Concord's lead to 9-4. But WVSU would come back again. Facing CU pitcher Will Zuspan – who relieved Proctor in the 4th – the Yellow Jackets scored three times in the bottom of the 7th. Jobst led off with a home run; one out later, Jeremy Fisher singled and Jason Lewis hit two-run home run to right.

That made the score 9-7 and gave the Mountain Lions fan base a collective case of nerves. But it would be as close as West Virginia State would get.

Aside from allowing the home runs to Sydnor and Blevins, Goodall kept Concord in check until the top of the 8th. With two outs and Humphrey at second, Morrisroe (left) beat out a slow roller to Jobst at third base.

WVSU head coach Cal Bailey removed Goodall for Lewis; Mays worked a 2-1 count, then stroked a solid single to center that brought in Humphrey and moved Morrisroe to third and gave CU a 10-7 advantage.

Bailey replaced Lewis with All-WVIAC selection John Gale, making his first relief appearance of the season, to face Wenger. Wenger fell behind 0-2, then worked Gale to a full count, while Mays stole second to move into scoring position.
Wenger rocketed Gale's sixth pitch back through the box for a clutch two-out, two-run single that pushed the lead to 12-7.

The case of nerves easing, the game became a matter of counting down the outs. Concord ace Ryan Weatherholtz, pressed into a relief role, retired the Yellow Jackets in order in the bottom of the 8th.

The Mountain Lions tacked on another run in the 9th on Raphael Sanchez's RBI fielder's choice to take a 13-7 lead into the bottom of the inning.

Fisher led off with a single, but Weatherholtz turned a comebacker from Lewis into a nifty 1-6-3 double play to put the Yellow Jackets down to their last out.
Andrew Pickering worked a walk, and Craft singled, but Weatherholtz induced Smith to hit a roller to Morrisroe.
The shortstop flipped to Sanchez to force out Craft at second, touching off a championship celebration on the Epling Stadium infield.

Beard and Blevins paced the Concord attack with three hits apiece; Morrisroe, Mays, Wenger, Sydnor and Humphrey added two hits each. Wenger drove in five runs, with Mays and Blevins each adding two.
For the tournament, Concord scored 44 runs on 62 hits.

On the mound, Zuspan got his second win of the tournament to improve to 5-2 on the season. Weatherholtz was not officially credited with a save, although he came into the game with CU ahead 9-7 in the bottom of the 7th.

BOXSCORE

Sunday's victory was the 12th in 15 games for the Mountain Lions, improving their record to 26-24. It's the first time CU has been two games over .500 this season.

The Mountain Lions return to the NCAA playoffs for the first time since making back-to-back appearances in 2008 and 2009.



^{(PHOTOS BY JENNIFER LOGAN)}

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