WAITING GAME

SATURDAY SPLIT SETS UP SUNDAY OF SCOREBOARD WATCHING FOR CU

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Concord's Baseball team went into Saturday's WVIAC seven-inning doubleheader at Wheeling Jesuit uncertain about its chances of reaching next week's conference tournament.

The Mountain Lions ended the day the same way.

CU split the twinbill, winning the first game, 2-1 (in eight innings), and dropping the second game, 7-5. Concord ends its regular season still, for the moment, in fourth place in the Southern Division.
That's one spot ahead of the University of Charleston, which will visit Wheeling Jesuit for a doubleheader on Sunday afternoon.


It's fair to say the Mountain Lions will keep a close eye on what happens.

The top four teams from each division qualify for the WVIAC Tournament. If the fifth-place Golden Eagles sweep Wheeling Jesuit, they would likely move past Concord and claim the final playoff spot. If UC and WJU split, of if the Cardinals sweep, Concord moves on to the post-season.


GAME ONE:  CONCORD 2, WHEELING JESUIT 1 (8)

In what became a pitcher's duel between Concord's Ryan Weatherholtz and Wheeling Jesuit's Jordan Kraus, the Mountain Lions missed on several chances to take the first lead.

Randy Beard led off the game with a single, but got erased when Keith Morrisroe bunted into a pop-out double play.

In the 3rd inning, Raphael Sanchez led off with a single and went to second on a sacrifice by Ian Humphrey, but Kraus got the next two hitters to end the inning.

In the 4th, Jacob Mays led off with a full-count double, but the Mountain Lions couldn't advance him and came away empty.

In the 5th, Kyle Webb led off with a single and wound up on third after two passed balls. Humphrey drew a one-out, full-count walk to put runners on the corners, but Kraus got out of trouble again by inducing the next two batters to pop out.

In the 7th, Bret Blevins led off with a single on an 0-2 pitch, but again CU couldn't take advantage.

Meanwhile, Weatherholtz (left) shut down the Cardinals on just two hits through the first seven innings, forcing extra frames.

The Mountain Lions had gone 0-8 with runners in scoring position before finally breaking through with one out in the top of the 8th. Morrisroe reached on a three-base error by RF Ryan Venderlic, and scored when Mays singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw to give Concord a 1-0 lead.

Wenger hit into a fielder's choice, with Mays forced out at second. But a throwing error on 2B Ricky Szeligo allowed Wenger to get to second base. Another error on Szeligo – on a ground ball by Nick Sydnor – brought in Wenger to score and gave CU a 2-0 lead.

That second run proved to be important.

In the bottom of the 8th, Robbie Davia led off a double, and moved to third with a one-out grounder. Jordan Medley singled to score Davia and break up Weatherholtz's shutout bid, and Venderlic singled to keep the inning alive.
But Weatherholtz got Szeligo to line out to Sydnor in right field to end the threat, and the game.

Weatherholtz allowed just five hits in earning the victory. It was his fifth complete game of the season, raising his record to 6-4. Mays and Blevins each went 2-4 to pace the Concord offense.


GAME TWO:  WHEELING JESUIT 7, CONCORD 5

The second game started much like the first, with CU misfiring on an early scoring chance. Back-to-back one-out singles by Morrisroe and Mays put runners at the corners, but WJU pitcher Steven Buffo retired the next two batters to keep the Mountain Lions off the board.

But, unlike game one, the Cardinals struck quickly in the nightcap. With one out in the bottom of the 1st, Szeligo singled and Dominic San Felippo drew a walk off CU starter Brandon Proctor. Mike Ludewig singled to drive in Szeligo; one out later, Kraus singled to score San Felippo. WJU led 2-0.

Concord countered in the top of the 2nd. With two outs, Raphael Sanchez walked, Humphrey singled, and Beard tripled on a 2-0 pitch to clear the bases and tie the game.

But Wheeling Jesuit answered in the bottom of the inning. Tom Charles singled with one out, and Venderlic doubled to put runners at second and third. Proctor hit Szeligo with a pitch to load the bases, then walked San Felippo to bring Charles in to score. Ludewig lifted a sacrifice fly to score Venderlic, and WJU took a 4-2 lead.

After Proctor allowed a single to Kraus and walked Corey Hull on four pitches to begin the bottom of the 3rd, CU head coach Andrew Wright brought Dustin Nuckels in from the bullpen.
Andrew Kozusco bunted for a single to load the bases; Nuckels recovered to get the next two outs, but pinch hitter Dustin Phillips steered a single to left to score Kraus and stretch the Cardinals' lead to 5-2.

Concord drew within 5-3 in the 5th on Wenger's RBI double, but Wheeling Jesuit restored a three-run lead on Venderlic's RBI single in the bottom of the inning.

Undeterred, the Mountain Lions pieced together a two-out rally to score twice in the top of the 6th. Humphrey singled, and Beard reached on a two-base error by Davia at third base. Morrisroe made the error hurt by clubbing a two-run single that got CU within 6-5.
Two wild pitches moved Morrisroe to third base. But with the tying run 90 feet away, Buffo got Mays to pop out to shortstop on a 3-1 pitch, and WJU hung on to the lead.

Thus buoyed, the Cardinals tacked on an insurance run in the bottom of the 6th. With two outs, Davia singled to center, and moved to third on a pair of wild pitches by Nuckels. Kraus singled, Davia trotted across the plate, and WJU led 7-5.


Blevins and Webb singled with two outs in the top of the 7th, but Buffo induced Sanchez to fly out to center to end the game.

Beard, Morrisroe, Mays, Blevins and Humphrey had two hits apiece for Concord, but the Cardinals out-hit the Mountain Lions 13-12.

Buffo threw 113 pitches in getting the complete game victory for Wheeling Jesuit.

Up next for Concord is a waiting game. If the Mountain Lions make the WVIAC Tournament, they'll play a yet-to-be-determined opponent from the Northern Division when pool play begins on Thursday, May 12 at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley, WV. If Concord doesn't reach the playoffs, their season will end at 22-24, 15-15 in the WVIAC.

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