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Box Score 2
ATHENS, W. Va. – The Concord University baseball team launched five home runs and received two solid pitching performances on its way to a dominating doubleheader sweep of West Liberty Wednesday at Anderson Field, 10-1 and 13-3.
The wins give Concord seven victories in its last eight games and improve the Mountain Lions' record to 25-16 overall and 20-7 in the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. West Liberty drops to 18-20 overall and 15-11 in the WVIAC.
The Mountain Lions, which are 18-5 at home this season, are just five wins away from having the second-most wins in a single season by a Concord team in the last 13 years.
Concord received standout performances at the plate from nearly every player in its starting lineup Wednesday with freshman catcher
Charles Goss and sophomore second baseman
Jerrod Groves leading the way.
In two games, Goss combined to go 4-for-5 with six RBI, two runs scored, one double, one home run and one stolen base. Not to be outdone, Groves finished 4-for-6 with five RBI, four runs and two stolen bases.
Concord starting pitchers sophomore
Kevin Mack (4-0) and freshman
Chris Kelly (4-0) also had outstanding afternoons. Mack, game one's starter, tossed a complete-game three-hitter with Kelly coming out in game two to scatter six hits and three runs in 4.1 innings.
Game One: Concord 10 – West Liberty 1
While Mack was busy shutting down West Liberty batters, he faced just 25 batters in the game, the Concord offense got to work on hitting the double-digit run total for the 18th time this season thanks to three runs in the second inning, four in the fourth and three in the fifth.
Seven of Concord's nine starters tallied hits in the opener including Groves, who went 3-for-3 with three runs and three RBI.
Goss and senior shortstop
Josh Wenger, who also stole a pair of bases, both posted two-hit games with Goss driving in four runs and hitting the first home run of his college career. Senior designated hitter
Jacob Mays also showed off his power when he knocked in two runs off of his fifth home run of the year in the fourth inning.
In his last four starts, Mack is 3-0 with a 2.52 ERA and nine strikeouts. He is yet to go less than five innings in games started this season.
Game Two: Concord 10 – West Liberty 3
Much like game one's win, game two was never in question as Kelly held the Hilltoppers scoreless through the opening four innings, allowing Concord to build a 7-0 lead before the Mountain Lions' bats exploded for a six-run fifth inning, thanks in part to three two-out home runs in the frame, en route to the 13-3 victory.
Senior outfielder
Devin Smith, sophomore third baseman
Ryan Johnston and junior first baseman
Joey Miller were responsible for the three home runs in the fifth. Miller's homer was his 10th of the year while Smith's and Johnston's shots were their sixth and fifth, respectively.
Johnston finished 3-for-4 with four RBI and his home run. Miller, Goss, Wenger, sophomore outfielder
T.J. Brockway and freshman outfielder
Andrew Seigel all had two-hit outings as well.
When Kelly exited the game with one out and the bases loaded in the fifth inning, sophomore pitcher
Bryant Pybus came on in relief to surrender just three runs, all of which were charged to Kelly.
Pybus came back out for the sixth inning and stranded two West Liberty batters before turning the game over to senior
Justin Willard, who pitched a perfect seventh inning to end the game.
Concord is back in action Thursday for a non-conference nine-inning matchup against Bluefield State. First pitch from Anderson Field is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
