Box Score 1 |
Box Score 2
ATHENS, W. Va. – The Concord University baseball team continued to run through its West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference schedule Saturday by sweeping a doubleheader from West Virginia Wesleyan 9-0 and 14-3.
The wins assured the Mountain Lions (27-16, 22-7 WVIAC) of their seventh consecutive series victory against WVIAC foes. Concord, which is on a four-game winning streak, has won 10 of its last 12 games.
Leading the Concord offense, which began the week ranked fifth in the nation in runs per game, was
Ryan Johnston,
Joey Miller and
Josh Wenger; CU's fourth, fifth and sixth hitters. The trio combined to go 13-for-23 with nine runs scored, 11 RBI and five doubles.
Individually, Miller was 5-for-9 on the day with four runs and five RBI. Johnston went 4-for-7 with four runs and two RBI and Wenger drove in four runs and scored another on a 4-for-7 day.
On the mound,
Ryan Weatherholtz (3-1) tossed a four-hit complete game shutout in the opener while
Tyler Coyle (5-4) went six strong innings in game two for the win. Weatherholtz has surrendered just two runs in his last two starts.
Concord will go for the season sweep of the Bobcats 1:00 p.m. Sunday. Prior to start of Sunday's game the 2013 Mountain Lion senior class will be recognized as part of Concord's Senior Day celebration.
Game One: Concord 9 – West Virginia Wesleyan 0
The Mountain Lions' bats did all of their damage in two big innings in the opener while Weatherholtz, who allowed just two batters to reach third base all game, shutdown the West Virginia Wesleyan (16-20, 11-10 WVIAC) offense.
Concord got the day started with three runs in the second inning off of RBI-doubles from Wenger and
Jerrod Groves as well as a run-scoring single from
Charles Goss.
CU struck again in the fourth inning with six runs to blow the game open. After
Jacob Mays scored on a wild pitch,
Devin Smith,
Joe Camp, Johnston, Miller and Wenger drove in five straight runs to give the Mountain Lions their 9-0 lead.
The Bobcats best chance for a run came in the third inning when Wesleyan put runners on second and third with just one out. However, Wenger made a great play in the field to catch a line drive off the bat of J.R. Tenney and proceed to turn the out into a double play by making it to second before the Bobcat base runner could tag up.
Concord registered 13 hits in game one with Goss leading the way on a 3-for-3 game. Johnston, Miller and Wenger tallied two hits apiece with Wenger driving in a pair of runs.
Game One: Concord 14 – West Virginia Wesleyan 3
The Maroon & Gray hit the double digit run plateau for the 20th time this season in game two's 14-3 rout of the Bobcats. Concord scored at least one run in every inning and finished the game with 17 hits. All nine of Concord's starters had at least one hit in the contest.
CU wasted little time gaining a lead thanks to RBI-hits from Johnston, Miller, Wenger and Mays in the first inning that put Wesleyan in a four-run hole it could never recover from.
Coyle took a shutout into the fourth inning before the Bobcats got to Concord's junior starter for three runs on six hits. However, he bounced back to throw shutout innings in the fifth and the sixth before turning the ball over to
Austin Southcott, who got out of a two-on, one-out jam by inducing a game-ending double play to secure the 14-3 win.
Six players had multi-hit games in the nightcap including a 3-for-4, four-RBI, two-double performance from Miller. Smith drove in four runs, three of which came off of a home run in the second inning. On the year, Miller has 55 RBI and Smith has seven home runs, including two in the last three games.
Everyone got involved in game two including relief pitcher
Tim Leather, who went 1-for-1 as a pinch hitter and also stole his first base of the season.
