Concord Splits with UVa.-Wise

ATHENS, W.Va- The Concord University softball team registered a split at home against UVa.-Wise on Tuesday afternoon at the CU Softball Complex in Mountain East Conference action. The Mountain Lions were defeated in game one 9-0 before pulling out a 9-8 victory in game two. 
 
Concord's record now stands at 27-19 overall (16-12 MEC), while UVa.-Wise is 25-24 overall (15-13 MEC).
 
GAME 1: UVa.-Wise 9 - Concord 0
The Cavaliers struck early to propel to a 7-0 lead after two innings in game one. 

UVa.-Wise added two more runs in the third inning to round out the scoring. 

Junior shortstop Alayna Furr registered Concord's only hit in game one. 

Freshman pitcher/outfielder Abby Beatty was charged with the loss for CU. 
 
GAME 2: Concord 9 - UVa.-Wise 8
After allowing two runs in the first inning of game two, CU reacted quickly with four of its own in the bottom of the second. 

Freshman first baseman Lauren Blunt doubled to left center to score junior third baseman Courtney Purtell and senior second baseman / center fielder Kristen Rose. Blunt touched home plate two batters later on a wild pitch before junior outfielder Lauren Lewis singled through the right side to score senior outfielder Kristi Benvenuto to cap the scoring in the second.

The back-and-forth affair continued in the top of the third as the Highland Cavaliers scored three more runs to regain the lead at 5-4. However, Concord came back once again in the bottom half of the inning with three more runs to take a 7-5 advantage. Purtell singled in Rose before Blunt notched her fourth RBI of the day with a two-run home run over the left field fence, the first of her career.

UVa.-Wise scored two runs in the fifth and took the lead in the sixth to take a one-run lead 8-7.  CU proved timely offensively once again, as senior catcher Alyssa Morris launched her 11th  home run of the year to left field to knot the game at 8-8. Rose retired three straight batters in the top of the seventh to set up a walk-off situation for CU. 

The Alleghany, Virginia native came up with a big play, this time on the offensive end, with a lead-off triple. With Rose standing at third, Purtell chopped a ground ball towards third, however, it was too tough to handle allowing Rose to score the winning run. 

Rose picked up her second win of the season in the circle in a complete-game effort. 

Blunt led the way for CU with four RBI, while Lewis, Morris, and Purtell added an RBI each. Blunt, Purtell and Rose also recorded two-hit games for the Mountain Lions.
 
Concord continues its home stand when its take on Glenville State Saturday at 3 and 5 p.m. for Senior Day.