Concord Sweeps Two Games on Third Day of PFX Tournament

CLERMONT, Fla. - The Concord University softball team went 2-0 Monday at PFX Tournament as CU shutout California (Pa.) 3-0 before walking off on West Chester 7-6 in the nightcap.
 
Concord improves to 11-11 while California (Pa.) drops to 5-5 this season.  West Chester stands at 9-5 with the loss.  
 
GAME 1: Concord 3 – California 0
Senior pitcher Allie Reid shutdown Cal U at the plate and provided her first home run of the season to help lift Concord to a 3-0 win.

Concord took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second after senior outfielder Lauren Lewis led off the inning with a double to right field. Senior pitcher Allie Reid moved Lewis to third on a sac bunt, before a passed ball by the Vulcans helped Lewis touch home plate for the first run of the game. 

The Mountain Lions doubled their lead in the top of the fifth inning after senior shortstop Alayna Furr singled through the left side before stealing second base. Senior pitcher/outfielder Sarah Herndon brought Furr home with a single to right field to score the speedy shortstop from second.

In the top of the sixth, Reid belted her first home run, a solo shot, of 2017 over the center field fence to give the Lovettsville, Virginia native her first dinger since the 2014 season. 

Reid (5-4) then completed the game in the circle with effectiveness, retiring six of the last eight batters to help Concord take a 3-0 win. 

The win was Concord's first shutout of an opponent since a 9-0 win over Lock Haven on February 17^th, and was the third of the season for Concord as a team.        

Furr finished 2-for-4 at the plate with a run scored, while Herndon, sophomore pitcher/outfielder Abby Beatty, Lewis, and Reid also finished with hits.

Reid's home run was the fourth home run hit by a Concord player this season.

GAME 2: Concord 7 - West Chester 6 
Concord erased a two-run deficit in its final at-bat as it came back to defeat the Rams by a run.

West Chester took control in the first inning, scoring two runs in the top of the first to take an early 2-0 lead. 

Concord responded with a run of its own in the bottom of the inning, after Beatty scored Furr on a double to cut the WCU lead to 2-1 after the first. 

Concord put three runs across the plate in the fourth inning. Freshman pitcher/outfielder Darby Fitzpatrick singled to shortstop to score Beatty from third. Two batters later, with Fitzpatrick and Lewis on second and third, sophomore infielder Kylie Kent singled to center field to score both runners and give Concord a 4-2 edge after four innings.  

Four unanswered runs by the Rams put Concord down 6-4 heading into the bottom of the seventh.

With one out, Furr started the rally for Concord by singling to second base. After Furr stole second, freshman second baseman/shortstop Jenna Witt stepped up to the plate with two outs. The Harpers Ferry, West Virginia native blasted a double to right center to score Furr from second. Witt advanced to third on a wild pitch from the West Chester pitcher shortly afterwards.  With the tying run on third, Beatty ended the game with her second home run of the season to left center to score Witt and give the Mountain Lions a 7-6 win in dramatic fashion.  

Reid and Fitzpatrick combined to complete the game in the circle, with Fitzpatrick picking up her third win of the season, giving up three earned runs over six innings.

Beatty finished 2-for-3 from the plate with three RBI and two runs scored. Kent drove in two runs, while Furr finished 2-for-4 from the batter's box with two runs scored. 

The walk-off win was Concord's first since a 9-8 win over UVa.-Wise on April 19, 2016. 

Concord closes out the final day of the PFX Tournament Tuesday with games against Indiana (Pa.) and Bloomsburg at 8:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m.