ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team split the opening two games of its series with the University of Charleston in Mountain East Conference action Friday afternoon at Anderson Field as Concord won the first game 5-3 before being bested 11-6 in the night cap.
The Mountain Lions stand at 20-22 overall and 14-12 in the MEC while UC is 14-30 overall and 9-19 in the league.
Game 1: Concord 5 – Charleston 3
Two timely base hits from senior infielder
Holt Cassada that scored a total of four runs propelled the Mountain Lions to a two-run win.
Charleston plated the first two runs of the game as it scored a run in each of the first two innings.
However, Cassada dropped a base hit into shallow centerfield in the bottom of the second that scored sophomore outfielder
Andy Szamski and redshirt freshman infielder
Trevor Wiersma.
The contest remained deadlocked until the bottom of the fifth when senior infielder
Brad Sullivan's single scored Cassada to give Concord a 3-2 lead.
Cassada added to the Mountain Lions' advantage in the sixth with another softly hit single into the outfield, this time scoring Wiersma and sophomore catcher
Paul Williams.
UC did not go away quietly in the seventh down three runs.
With one run already across and the tying run at the plate with one out, Cassada flashed the glove as he ranged and dove to his left to snare a line drive off the bat of Charleston's Anthony Brunetti and keep the potential tying-run off the bases.
Sophomore pitcher
Damon Frazier forced a groundout for the final out of the game as he picked up his second save of the season.
Senior pitcher
Chris Kelly improved to 6-5 as he tossed six innings, scattering six hits and three runs (two earned).
Cassada finished 3-for-3 with four RBI. Wiersma scored two for the Mountain Lions.
Game 2: Charleston 11 – Concord 6
Four runs by Charleston in the seventh inning turned a one-run Concord deficit into a 10-5 disadvantage, a hole the Mountain Lions were unable to come back from.
Once again the Golden Eagles jumped out to early advantage, leading 3-0 after 2.5 innings.
CU fought back with three runs in the bottom of the third as redshirt freshman outfielder
Jordan Clark and Wiersma notched RBI singles and sophomore infielder
Chad Frazier plated a run on a fielder's choice.
UC grabbed the lead back in the fifth inning with three more runs, but CU trimmed the UC advantage to 6-5 after Clark drove in Sullivan and Wiersma scored off a Charleston error.
After the Golden Eagles were retired in order in the sixth inning, they struck for four runs in the seventh to take a 10-5 lead.
Concord scored in the seventh as well off a UC error, but could not draw any closer than 10-6 as it fell 11-6.
CU's 2-5 hitters of Sullivan, Frazier, Wiersma and Clark all had two-hit games while freshman infielder
Brett Simmons also collected two hits. Clark added two RBI.
Freshman pitcher
Troy Beckner (2-6) was charged with the loss in 4.2 innings.
Concord and UC will conclude the four-game set beginning at 11:00 a.m. Saturday.
The games have been moved up two hours due to impending weather.
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