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Box Score 2 ATHENS, W. Va. – Senior pitchers
Ryan Weatherholtz and
Tyler Coyle both threw complete games to lead the Concord University baseball team to a doubleheader sweep of Notre Dame College, 5-2, 9-2, at Anderson Field Saturday in Mountain East Conference play.
The wins improve the Mountain Lions' record to 9-3 overall and to 6-0 in the MEC in addition to extending CU's winning streak to six games. Notre Dame falls to 5-4 overall and 3-2 in league games with the defeats.
While Weatherholtz and Coyle kept the Notre Dame hitters in check, the duo of senior outfielder
Bret Blevins and juniorÂ
T.J. Brockway led the Concord offense. For the day, Blevins went 3-for-7 with two runs, two RBI, a double, a triple and a stolen base while after sitting out the opener Brockway exploded in game two, going 3-for-3 with one run, two RBI and a career-high four stolen bases.
Blevins' stolen base in game one was the 61st of his career, tying him with former Mountain Lion great Keith Morrisroe for the most steals in career by a Concord player. His three-hit day also moved him into fifth place in school history for career hits at 218.
Game One; Concord 5 – Notre Dame 2 (Box Score)
The Mountain Lions were propelled to a 5-2 series-opening win over the Falcons in game one by Weatherholtz, who struck out eight batters and surrendered just four hits in a complete-game victory. Weatherholtz (3-0) has won his last three starts and allowed just five runs over his last 22 innings pitched.
At the plate, Concord posted a run in both the first and third innings off of a sacrifice fly from senior first baseman
Joey Miller and a single by Blevins, respectively, before exploding for three runs in the decisive fourth inning.
Junior third baseman
Ryan Johnston started the fourth inning with a leadoff triple before quickly crossing home plate thanks to a double by sophomore designated hitter
Joe Camp. Freshman outfielder
Eli Flynn pushed the Mountain Lions' lead to 5-0 on an RBI-single that brought in Camp while an error in the outfield by Notre Dame allowed Flynn to turn his base hit into a run by scoring all the way from first on the play.
Weatherholtz, whose eight strikeouts was one away from matching his career-high, held Notre Dame scoreless and to just two hits through the first 5.2 innings of play Saturday before giving up back-to-back hits, including a two-run home run by Ryan Sanders, for the only blemishes in an otherwise dominant outing. After the home run, Weatherholtz responded by striking out three of the Falcons' final four batters to secure Concord's three-run triumph.
Concord featured a balanced offensive attack in game one with seven players accounting for the team's eight hits. Sophomore second baseman
Jerrod Groves led the way with a 2-for-3 performance
Game Two: Concord 9 – Notre Dame 2 (Box Score)
The Mountain Lions wasted little time setting the tone for game two as CU produced six runs in the first inning en route to a 9-2 victory over Notre Dame. 20 of Concord's 74 runs in 2014 have come in the first inning.
Concord's six-run first inning saw the Mountain Lions bat around their lineup and featured run-scoring hits on a double by Blevins, a double by Miller, an RBI by Camp, a two-run single by Brockway and a final one-run base hit by senior catcher
Brandon Costa.
The Mountain Lions added one run in the third inning when freshman outfielder
Andrew Seigel drove in Brockway on a sacrifice fly, one in the fourth by way of Miller scoring on a fielding error after stealing third base and a final score in the sixth thanks to Johnston's sacrifice fly that plated Blevins, who tripled earlier in the inning.
The early six-run advantage was more than enough for Coyle (2-1), who gave up a season-low two runs by scattering eight hits and striking out two batters in 110 pitchers on the way to his second victory of the year. Coyle did some of his best work when Notre Dame had runners on base by stranding two Falcon on base in the first, second, third and fourth innings.
In addition to Brockway's 3-for-3, two-RBI, four-stolen base game, both Blevins and Miller also registered two hits, an RBI and two runs each. Seigel stretched his team-best hitting streak to 10 games with a 1-for-3 showing in the nightcap.
Concord will go for its third consecutive series victory when it hosts Notre Dame in another doubleheader beginning 12:00 p.m. Sunday at Anderson Field.
