They wound up being two very different games, but they each meant the same to Concord's baseball team – each was a step closer to a post-season berth.
The Mountain Lions swept an important WVIAC South Division seven-inning doubleheader against Davis & Elkins, winning 5-4 and 9-1 on a picture-perfect Friday afternoon at Anderson Field.
Late dramatics marked the first game, in the form of Josh Wenger's game-winning home run in the bottom of the 6th. The second game was comparatively more mundane, as the CU offense rallied twice early and starting pitcher Devin Smith took a shutout into the 7th inning.
The twin wins solidified Concord's hold on a top-four finish in the division, which would guarantee a spot in the WVIAC Tournament next month. D&E ended the day in 5th place.
NOTE: Saturday's series finale has been moved up to 10:00 am, due to concerns about the weather. Forecasters are calling for rain much of the day.
GAME ONE
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY
The contest had a post-season feel, with each team trading rallies into the late innings.
The Senators employed their signature small-ball attack to score three times in the top of the 2nd, piecing together a hit batsman, two singles, a fielder's choice, an error and a safety squeeze.
Concord countered with a two-out rally that tied the score in the bottom of the inning. Consecutive singles by Ian Humphrey, Randy Beard and Jerrod Groves produced the first run; the next man up, team captain Keith Morrisroe, got behind 0-2, worked the count full, and singled up the middle to drive in Beard and Groves.
CU played longball to take the lead, on Devin Smith's solo home run to lead off the bottom of the 4th.
The Senators loaded against CU starter Tyler Zimm (upper left) in the top of the 5th, and pushed across the tying run on Josh Robinette's two-out RBI single.
The 4-4 score held until the bottom of the 6th, when Wenger (above right) led off with a booming solo shot to left center.
D&E threatened in the top of the 7th, putting runners on 1st and 2nd with one out. But Zimm induced Lance Vannoy to hit into a fielder's choice and Robinette to ground out sharply to Ryan Johnston at first base to end the game.
Zimm limited D&E to five hits while striking out eight to earn the complete game victory. Josh Keir gave up ten hits in six innings in taking the loss.
Beard and Bret Blevins had two hits each to lead Concord.
GAME TWO
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY
Concord carried over the momentum from the first game with three-run rallies in 1st and 2nd innings.
In the 1st, Beard singled and Morrisroe and Blevins hit back-to-back triples; one out later, Wenger's infield single scored Blevins.
In the 2nd, Smith reached on an error on 3B Kyle Crist and Humphrey doubled to left. A groundout from Beard scored Smith, and Morrisroe's single to center plated Humphrey. Blevins was hit by a pitch, and Johnston singled to right to score Morrisroe and give CU a 6-0 lead.
The Mountain Lions went up 7-0 in the 4th when Blevins doubled to drive in Groves.
The lead stretched to 9-0 after Beard's two-run double in the 5th.
On the mound, Smith (above left) worked out of a jam in the 3rd inning – when D&E put runners at 2nd and 3rd with one out – to take a two-hit shutout into the top of the 7th. The Senators marred Smith's gem when Eric Doyle doubled and Vannoy singled to drive him home, but Smith slammed the door by getting Paris Ragan to pop out and Treavor Dubiel to hit into a game-ending 1-6-3 double play.
Smith allowed only four hits and struck out six in notching his second complete game of the season. D&E (16-25, 11-15) needed three pitchers to work six innings.
Beard, Morrisroe and Blevins were the centerpieces of Concord's 12-hit attack, combining to go 6-11 with seven RBIs and four runs scored.
Up next for Concord (19-25, 15-14) is tomorrow's series finale. First pitch is scheduled for 10:00 am at Anderson Field, and admission is free.
(statistics provided by CU SID GA Becky Brouse)
