Concord Defeats Charleston in Doubleheader, 9-8, 12-6

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team's bats continued its hot streak as it swept the first two games of the series against the University of Charleston , 9-8 and 12-6, Thursday afternoon at Anderson Field in Mountain East Conference play.

CU stretches its record to 17-9 overall and 15-7 in the MEC as they pushed their winning streak to seven. Charleston falls to 7-15 overall and 6-14 in the league.

Game 1: Concord 9 – Charleston 8 (Eight Innings)
Concord rallied from two runs down in its final at bats to force extra innings. In the bottom of the eighth inning, senior outfielder Jerrod Groves lined a double to deep right field to plate junior shortstop Brad Sullivan, the game's winning run.

Once Charleston scored four runs in the sixth inning and overtook the Mountain Lions for an 8-6 lead, Concord produced two runs in the seventh to knot the contest at 8-8.

CU started the inning by getting the first three batters on base as Groves was hit by a pitch and senior outfielder T.J. Brockway and freshman outfielder Andy Szamski each singled. Szamski's single drove in Groves to make it 8-7.

With one out in the inning, senior first baseman Ryan Johnston plated sophomore outfielder Steve Schiffour who entered the game to pinch run for Brockway. However with the bases loaded for Concord, UC's David Webb induced an inning-ending double play to send the game to extras.

The Mountain Lions made short work of Charleston in extras as Sullivan led off the eighth with a single and advanced on wild pitch. After making it to third on a sacrifice bunt by junior outfielder Andrew Seigel, Groves drilled a 0-1 offering to right field and allowed Sullivan to coast home for the walk-off win.   

Concord's 1-3 hitters of Sullivan, Seigel and Groves combined to go 9-for-13 as Groves tallied three RBI  while Sullivan and Seigel each scored three runs.

Redshirt freshman third baseman / pitcher Damon Frazier (2-1) notched the win in a relief effort as he struck out two batters and kept UC scoreless in 2.2 innings.

Game 2: Concord 12 – Charleston 6
Concord carried over the momentum from game one to the nightcap as it scored 10 runs in the first three innings en route to a six-run win.

Groves and Szamski were the catalyst for CU offense as they combined for eight of the 11 RBI recorded in game two.

Szamski produced both runs in the first inning with a base hit with one out to score Groves and Sullivan. The Glen Arm, Maryland then backed up his single with his third home run of the season, a two-run blast to left field, in a four-run second for the Mountain Lions.

After plated five runs in the fourth and drew to within 10-6 after five innings, CU added two runs in the sixth to assure a doubleheader sweep.

Sophomore pitcher Zach Kelly evened his record at 3-3 for the season by pitching the first four innings. Freshman pitcher Reece Edwards earned his first career save by allowing one hit and striking out four batters in the final three innings.

Concord and the Golden Eagles will resume their four-game series 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Anderson Field.