ATHENS, W.Va- The Concord University softball team swept Shepherd by scores of 3-2 and 5-4 on Thursday afternoon at the CU Softball Complex in Mountain East Conference play.
Concord improves to 23-21 (11-8 MEC), while Shepherd drops to 23-14 (10-8 MEC) with the pair of losses.
Game 1: Concord 3 – Shepherd 2
Sophomore outfielder/pitcher
Abby Beatty capped off a 4-for-4 performance at the plate with third walk-off hit of the season up the middle to boost Concord to 3-2 win in the bottom of the seventh inning.
Concord tallied the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning after senior shortstop
Alayna Furr hustled down the line to beat out a throw on a single to third base.
Furr then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from sophomore infielder
Kylie Kent before moving to third on a wild pitch. Beatty then singled to center field to score Furr and give CU a 1-0 lead after one.
The Mountain Lions doubled their lead to 2-0 in the third inning on a similar run of events. Furr singled down the third base line on a bunt before Kent once again moved the Lovettsville, Virginia native to second on a sac bunt. Beatty then raked another single up the middle to score Furr from second.
Shepherd rallied in the sixth inning on an RBI single from Alexandra Witt and an RBI single from Connor Gilligan. However, senior pitcher
Allie Reid, combined with good glove work from Furr, helped Concord halt the Rams and get the last two outs of the inning.
Reid then retired the next three batters for the Rams in the top of the seventh inning to set up a tie game heading to the bottom of the frame.
Furr walked with one out before another sacrifice bunt from Kent helped Furr advance all the way to third. Beatty slapped a single up the middle for the third time in the game to score Furr from third and secure Concord's game one win.
Beatty finished the game notching a career-high four hits in four plate appearances while providing all three of Concord's RBI.
Furr finished 2-for-3 at the plate with three runs scored, while senior outfielder Lauren
Lewis provided Concord's only other hit of the day.
Reid pitched a complete game, allowing just four hits while striking out two batters to improve to 10-7 this season.
Game 2: Concord 5 – Shepherd 4
Concord withstood a Shepherd rally in the fifth before retaking a one-run lead in the bottom of the frame to win by the decisive run.
Shepherd got on the board in the top of the first after Alexandra Witt singled to right center to score Sarah North.
The Rams attempted to score two runners on the play, but an impressive play from junior catcher/outfielder
Chelsea Shepherd and freshman second baseman/shortstop
Jenna Witt combined to get the runner out at home.
Shepherd fired the ball to second in an attempt to throw Shepherd's Witt out at second before Concord's
Jenna Witt fired the ball immediately back to home plate to get the advancing runner and keep the game within one.
Concord tied the game at one in the bottom of the second after sophomore outfielder
Lindsey Stahl singled before stealing both second and third base. A sacrifice fly from Witt brought Stahl home from third to even the game at one after two innings.
A big third inning from Concord helped give CU a 4-1 lead after Kent, who started the proceedings with a double, scored on consecutive throwing errors by Shepherd.
Reid then stepped up and hit a single up the middle to score Beatty, who reached on a fielder's choice before advancing on the errors.
Stahl capped off the inning with a double down the left field line to score Shepherd, who pinch ran for Reid.
The Rams scored a run in the fourth inning to cut the Concord lead to 4-2 and added two more in the fifth to tie the contest.
The Mountain Lions gained the lead for good in the bottom of the frame after Lewis singled to right field to start the inning. Reid then stepped up an smashed an RBI double to score Lewis and give CU a lead it would not relinquish.
Senior pitcher
Sarah Herndon retired the last six batters in order to earn the win (4-8) and give CU a sweep of the Rams.
Freshman pitcher/first baseman
Rachel Pritchard pitched 4.2 innings, scattering six hits and striking out a batter.
Kent, Reid and Stahl each finished with two hits with Kent picking up two doubles in a game for the first time in her career.
Reid finished with two RBI while Stahl and Witt each picked up an additional RBI.
The Mountain Lions return to action on Friday at home when they face Fairmont State beginning at 2:00 p.m.
