Concord Splits Doubleheader Versus Urbana

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team earned a split with Urbana Monday afternoon at Anderson Field in Mountain East Conference play.

CU is now 2-4 this season with a 2-4 MEC mark. The doubleheader was the first games of the season for the Blue Knights.

Game 1: Concord 1 – Urbana 0
Junior pitcher Chris Kelly (1-1) tossed one of the best games in his Concord career as he recorded his first win of the season.

The Grundy, Virginia native struck out a career-high seven batters while allowing just five hits in his seven innings of work.

Kelly retired the first nine batters he faced as he stranded just two runners overall. Additionally, Kelly received some defensive work from his fielders to maintain his shutout.

With the game still knotted 0-0 in the sixth inning, UU's Matt Paculan doubled to right field. Running on the play was Steven Brown who tried to score on the gap shot to right. However, freshman outfielder Andy Szamski hit junior shortstop Brad Sullivan who fired a strike to home plate and junior catcher Charlie Goss tagged Brown out to preserve the scoreless tie.

Szamski and Goss were in the middle of the game's lone run in the sixth.

Szamski led off the inning by walking and was sacrificed over to second by junior infielder Forest Lewis. After a single by redshirt freshman infielder Chad Frazier, Goss hit a sacrifice fly to left field for the decisive run that scored Szamski.

Kelly returned to the hill in the seventh where he allowed a meaningless a two-out single and secured his first win of the season.

Senior outfielder T.J. Brockway, Frazier, Goss, junior outfielder Andrew Seigel and Sullivan all had one hit a piece for CU in the win.

Urbana's Nick Bozman pitched six innings, giving up five hits and one run while striking out eight.

Game 2: Urbana 4 – Concord 1
The Blue Knights' Austin Mace and Jackson Everman limited the Mountain Lions to three hits as CU fell 4-1.

Urbana scored two runs in the second inning on an RBI triple from Paculan, who would cross the plate on an RBI groundout by D.J. Collins later in the inning.

UU added a single run in the fifth and sixth to take a commanding 4-0 lead.

After back-to-back hits to start the sixth inning including an RBI double by Sullivan, the Mountain Lions were poised to make things interesting late in the contest.

However, the rally was quickly shutdown by Everman who relieved Mace after Sullivan's double.

Everman struck out Frazier and Lewis and also picked Sullivan off of second base to end the CU threat as he pitched a perfect seventh to end CU's comeback bid.

Sophomore pitcher Zach Kelly (0-2) was the tough-luck loser for Concord as he tossed six innings while giving up four runs on seven hits. But, Kelly also struck out a career-high six batters.

Brockway, senior second baseman Jerrod Groves and Sullivan all recorded hits for CU.

Concord will next play a doubleheader at Winston-Salem State Wednesday.