Concord Splits with No. 13 West Virginia Wesleyan

BUCKHANNON,  W.Va- The Concord University softball team fell 13-5 before earning a 5-4 victory in a conference matchups on the road at No. 13-ranked West Virginia Wesleyan on Friday afternoon in Mountain East Conference action.
 
Concord now stands at 12-10 on the season, while West Virginia Wesleyan now stands at 21-3 on the season. 
 
Game 1: West Virginia Wesleyan 13 - Concord 5
The Mountain Lions could not maintain a 3-0 first inning lead as WVWC took game one 13-5.

Freshman pitcher / outfielder Abby Beatty got Concord off to a fast start as she homered in the first inning to score junior shortstop Alayna Furr and senior catcher Alyssa Morris. The Bobcats cut into CU's lead after a two-run second, but CU produced two of its own runs in the top of the third as Lewis drilled a two-run home run to plate freshman outfielder Lindsey Stahl pushing Concord in front 5-2.

WVWC came back with five runs in the third to go ahead 7-5 and scored six more in the fourth and fifth combined to win 13-5.

Beatty and Lewis each had two-hit games with a home run each while junior pitcher / outfielder Sarah Herndon was also 2-for-2 at the plate.

Game 2: Concord 5 - West Virginia Wesleyan 4
Five unanswered runs and a game-saving play defensively by junior shortstop Alayna Furr pushed Concord to a one-run win.

It appeared Wesleyan was going to win the nightcap after plating four runs in the first inning, but the Mountain Lions scored two runs each in the fourth and fifth to tie the game 4-4. Sophomore third baseman Alycea Watson got CU to within 4-2 with an two-RBI single before Lewis doubled in a run in the fifth and junior pitcher / outfielder Sarah Herndon notched an RBI groundout to knot the game.

In the sixth, Furr would provide the winning run on an RBI single, but her biggest play of the game came on a diving grab at shortstop to record the second out of the inning and leave the tying run at third base. Freshman pitcher / utility Aarron Ward got the next WVWC batter to groundout and end the threat as CU went on to win 5-4.

Furr, Lewis and Watson all had two-hit games with Watson driving in two runs.

Ward was stellar in the circle in the circle as none of the four runs she gave up in the game were earned. Ward scattered five hits on the day and struck out three Bobcats.
 
Concord will continue conference play when they travel to Glenville State on Sautrday  First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m.