Concord Downed by West Virginia State, 9-1

Box Score BECKLEY, W. Va. – The Concord University baseball team's  run at the Mountain East Conference Tournament came to an end with a 9-1 loss to West Virginia State Saturday night at Epling Stadium in Beckley, W. Va.
 
West Virginia State led by just two runs (3-1) going into the eighth inning before fielding miscues caused partly by an intense fog that settled over the field led to the Yellow Jackets adding six runs in the final two innings.
 
Concord's record sits at 38-16, a school-record for wins in a season.
 
Junior pitcher Kevin Mack (3-2) kept Concord in the game with one of his best performances as a Mountain Lion. In seven innings of work he scattered five hits and gave up just four runs, only two of which was earned. Mack did not give up a hit after the third inning and only allowed two base runners total over the stretch.
 
Seven different players registered hits on the night for Concord including 2-for-4, one-double games by sophomore shortstop Brad Sullivan and sophomore designated hitter Joe Camp. Sullivan also contributed one run.
 
With an infield single to third base in the eighth inning, senior outfielder Bret Blevins tied former Concord great Donovan Huffer for the school record in career hits; both men have compiled 275 collegiate hits for the Mountain Lions.
 
Additionally, junior second baseman Jerrod Groves, senior first baseman Joey Miller, junior third baseman Ryan Johnston and senior catcher Brandon Costa all came away with one-hit contests.
 
West Virginia State struck first by scoring two runs in the first inning, all coming with two outs and after a fielding error extended the inning. The Yellow Jackets pushed their lead to 3-0 when Jack Hudson, who tripled a batter earlier, came home on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Andrew Pickering in the third inning.
 
Concord threatened in the second inning when Johnston and Camp connected on matching back-to-back singles to left centerfield, but WVSU starter Tyler Hall got out of the jam by inducing an inning-ending doubleplay.
 
The Mountain Lions were denied another run-scoring opportunity in the fourth inning when Miller was stranded on second base after his 21st double of the season by Yellow Jacket third baseman Josh Kiser, who made a diving stop and the accompanying throw to first on a potential base hit by Johnston to make the third out of the frame.
 
Concord finally broke through for a score in the fifth inning after Sullivan hit a one-out double followed one batter later by Costa shooting a single to centerfield; Costa's single combined with a WVSU fielding error allowed Sullivan to score from second to make it a 3-1 contest heading into the sixth.
 
However, West Virginia State broke the game open with three runs in the eighth inning as well as three more in the ninth to take a commanding eight-run advantage at 9-1. Groves came through with a leadoff double in the eighth and Blevins moved him over to third on his record-tying single later in the inning, but WVSU relief pitcher Will Ore got out of the jam to preserve the lead before registering the final three outs in the bottom of the ninth.
 
Senior pitchers Chris Baker and Tim Leather threw the final two innings for Concord. Baker went 1.2 innings, giving up five runs, all of which were unearned on four hits while Leather retired the final WVSU batter in the ninth.

The Mountain Lions will await their regional postseason fate, which will be determind by the NCAA selection commitee at 10:00 p.m. Sunday night.
 
Hall, the league's Freshman of the Year, earned the victory for West Virginia State which moves on to play Notre Dame College in the MEC Tournament finals 1:00 p.m. Sunday.