BASEBALL: BALANCING ACT

MOUNTAIN LIONS SPLIT DOUBLEHEADER AT WEST LIBERTY

Concord's baseball team stumbled, but regained its balance, splitting a WVIAC seven-inning doubleheader at West Liberty on Wednesday afternoon.

The Mountain Lions dropped the first game, 8-7 (despite overcoming an early 7-0 deficit, but responded with a 16-7 blowout victory in the nightcap at Kovalick Field in West Liberty, WV.

The split dropped CU from 2nd to 3rd in the South Division standings but solidified the team's hold on a top-four finish and a spot in next month's WVIAC Tournament.

Zach Cloxton AB, cropped
GAME ONE
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY

The host Hilltoppers struck quickly.  Travis Denman's two-run home run gave them a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the 1st; in the bottom of the 2nd, the first three batters reached base on a single, a walk and an error, setting up a five-run rally that stretched their advantage to 7-0.

Concord began its comeback in the top of the 3rd.  Singles from Ian Humphrey and Jerrod Groves bookended a walk by Randy Beard and loaded the bases, and Keith Morrisroe's sacrifice fly got CU on the board.

While facing Bret Blevins, WLU starting pitcher Mike Roach committed a balk, scoring Beard and advancing Groves to second.  Blevins singled to left to drive in Groves and pull CU within 7-3.

One deft managerial maneuver and a couple of long balls helped Concord tie the game in the late innings.

In the top of the 6th, after Ryan Johnston and Josh Wenger drew walks off Roach, CU head coach Andrew Wright brought Zach Cloxton off the bench to pinch hit.  The move paid immediate dividends when Cloxton (above right) launched a three-run homer to right that closed the Mountain Lions to within 7-6.

Concord tied the score in the 7th on Groves' leadoff solo shot.

But West Liberty used a single from Scott Castilow, a walk to Dillon Mangino and Andrew Henry's double to score in the bottom of the 7th and win the game, 8-7.

CU reliever Kevin Mack took the tough-luck loss despite allowing just one run on two hits in 4 1/3 innings.  The defeat snapped Concord's five-game winning streak.

GAME TWO
BOXSCORE/PLAY-BY-PLAY

Concord scored first, tallying twice in the top of the 1st.  Beard singled, Morrisroe walked, and Blevins doubled into the left field corner to bring home Beard.  Johnston followed with a sacrifice fly that plated Morrisroe.

West Liberty quickly tied the score in bottom of the inning on Hayden Mobley's two-run homer.

Jerrod Groves Scores
Concord wasted little time in reclaiming the lead.  Cloxton led off the top of the 2nd with a solo homer – his second big fly of the day – to break the tie.  Humphrey singled, and moved to third on Groves' single one out later.  Groves stole second, and the theft paid off when Blevins delivered a two-run single to left for 5-2 lead.

Blevins followed Groves' footsteps in stealing second, with similar results.  Johnston poked an RBI single to left, pushing the Concord advantage to 6-2 and chasing WLU starting pitcher Brandon Polanski.

The Mountain Lions blew open the game with a six-run rally in the 3rd.  The outburst started when 'Toppers reliever Bruce Knisley hit Cloxton with a pitch; Humphrey and Beard singled, scoring Cloxton.

Groves hit into a fielder's choice that left runners at the corners, and Morrisroe drew a walk that loaded the bases. The bases stayed loaded after Blevins drove in Humphrey with an infield single for an 8-2 lead.

Johnston promptly cleared the bases with a grand slam to left that capped the rally and gave Concord a ten-run advantage.

WLU's Mike Johnson hit a solo home run in the 3rd, but CU's Clayton Dellinger answered with a solo shot of his own – his first collegiate homer – in the top of the 5th.

The Hilltoppers (10-28, 7-21) crept within 13-7 with a four-run rally in the 5th, but that would be as close as they would get.  In the top of the 6th, Colton Mitchell's sacrifice fly made the score 14-7, and the Mountain Lions removed any doubt with a pair of runs in the 7th.

Concord pounded out 19 hits, five for extra bases.  Blevins led the way by going 4-5 with a double, four RBIs and three runs scored.  Cloxton finished 3-4 with a homer, three runs scored, two RBIs and a stolen base.  Beard was 3-4, and Johnston and Humphrey added two hits each.

On the day, Cloxton was 4-6 with two home runs, five RBIs and four runs scored.

On the mound, Dustin Nuckels worked five innings to get the win in his third start of the season.  Cody Justus closed it out with two innings of shutout relief.



Up next for Concord (21-26, 17-15) is a return home to Anderson Field for the final series of the regular season – a three-game South Division weekend set against intra-county rival Bluefield State.

The two squads will play a seven-inning doubleheader on Saturday, April 28 and a single nine-inning game on Sunday, April 29.  First pitch is scheduled for 1:00 pm both days, and admission is free.


(statistics courtesy of West Liberty Sports Information)



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