Box Score Photo Gallery
Coach Wright Interview
BECKLEY, W. Va. – The Concord University baseball team scored five runs early and withstood a West Virginia State comeback attempt to claim the school's fifth West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship with an 11-4 victory Saturday at Epling Stadium.
The Mountain Lions had previously won conference titles in 2011, 2001, 1961 and 1954. Head coach
Andrew Wright has now won two conference championships in three seasons as Concord's head coach.
The victory also improves Concord's record to 36-18 overall. The 36 wins are a Concord single-season record. Concord's championship guarantees them a spot in the 2013 NCAA Tournament. The official selection show will take place on May 12.
Freshman outfielder
Andrew Seigel and senior pitcher
Devin Smith went a combined 6-for-8 from the top of the Concord batting order with each player accounting for three hits. Seigel also scored three runs and drove in three more while Smith scored twice and had one RBI.
Senior outfielder
Jacob Mays and junior first baseman
Joey Miller tallied two-RBI games each and sophomore third baseman
Ryan Johnston went 2-for-5 with one RBI and one run scored.
On the mound, Smith pitched 4.2 innings, allowing five hits and four runs while striking out two batters. Junior
Chris Baker (8-1) came on in relief of Smith and threw 4.1 innings of shutout baseball for the Mountain Lions.
The Mountain Lions wasted little time establishing a lead with five runs in the first two innings. Seigel was hit by a pitch to lead off the game and Smith drove a double to left field to give Concord runners on second and third with no outs.
Mays then brought Seigel in with a sacrifice fly that was preceded by an RBI-double from Miller and a run-scoring single from senior shortstop
Josh Wenger.
Concord made it a 5-0 game in the second inning off of a Seigel double and a Smith single that scored sophomore catcher
T.J. Brockway and Seigel, respectively.
West Virginia State managed to break up the shutout with an RBI-double from Garrett Kiser in the fourth inning, but CU reclaimed its five-run advantage in the bottom of the frame when Johnston ripped a single down the left field line to score Smith, who walked earlier in the inning, to put CU up 6-1.
With their season on the line the Yellow Jackets responded with a three-run fifth inning that knocked Smith out of the game for Baker and cut Concord's lead to just two runs (6-4).
However, there would be no miracle comeback for WVSU as the Mountain Lions quickly regrouped in the bottom of the fifth to load the bases leading to Seigel delivering a two-run single that gave Concord a comfortable 8-4 lead.
Concord continued to add insurance runs with one in the sixth and two more in the seventh. Meanwhile, Baker silenced the Yellow Jackets batters with four straight shutout innings to end the game and help claim conference crown.
Concord outhit West Virginia State 14-11 and had three extra-base hits off of doubles from Seigel, Smith and Miller.
