INSTITUTE, W.Va- The Concord University softball team earned a Sunday split against West Virginia State after dropping game one 4-3 and winning game two 9-3.
Concord's record after the contests stands at 17-19 (6-6 MEC), while West Virginia State is now 19-17 (5-9 MEC) on the season.
Game 1: West Virginia State 4 – Concord 3
Trailing 4-2 after five innings, sophomore outfielder
Lindsey Stahl drove an RBI triple into the left field gap to draw CU within one, however, Stahl, the tying run, would not cross home plate as Concord lost 4-3.
Concord opened the scoring in the bottom of the third inning after senior shortstop
Alayna Furr doubled home senior third baseman
Courtney Purtell.
The run was scored after senior pitcher
Sarah Herndon reached on an error before a bunt by freshman catcher
Calli Van Gorden moved Purtell, pinch running for Herndon, to second.
West Virginia State tied things up at one after a double from Cheyenne Herrera doubled home Kayleigh Thompson.
The Yellow Jackets then took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fourth inning on an RBI single.
Concord evened the game at two when junior third baseman
Alycea Watson doubled to lead off the inning. Herndon provided a single to center field to score Watson from second and tie the game at two after the top of the fifth.
West Virginia State scored two more runs in the bottom of the fifth.
The Mountain Lions chipped away at the Yellow Jacket lead once again after scoring a run in the top of the sixth. Freshman second baseman/shortstop
Jenna Witt lead off the inning with a single before advancing to second on an illegal pitch.
That allowed Stahl to continue her recent run of hitting, legging out a triple to score Witt and bring the Mountain Lions within one.
However, the Mountain Lions couldn't get the tying run to touch home plate in the sixth or the seventh to fall 4-3.
The Mountain Lions managed six hits, with Furr, sophomore infielder
Kylie Kent, Witt, Stahl, Watson, and Herndon each grabbing a hit.
Stahl, Herndon and Furr tallied Concord's RBI in game one.
Game 1: Concord 9 – West Virginia State 3
The Mountain Lions used the long ball and a big third and fourth innings on their way to a six-run win.
After two scoreless innings to start the contest, the Mountain Lions erupted for five runs in the third inning to take a commanding 5-0 lead.
Freshman pitcher/first baseman
Rachel Pritchard started the inning by slapping a single to center field before Watson moved the Wilmington, Delaware native to second on a sacrifice bunt.
Furr reached on a fielder's choice to move Pritchard to third to give the Mountain Lions runners on the corners with no outs.
A passed ball by the Yellow Jackets allowed Pritchard to score before Kent smacked a double to left field to score Furr from second.
Kent then touched home plate on a home run by
Abby Beatty, her fifth of the season, to score Concord's third and fourth run of the inning.
A single by Stahl and an ensuing double by Witt provided Concord's final run of the third.
The Mountain Lions extended their lead to 9-0 in the fourth inning after adding four more runs.
With runners on second and third, Stahl blasted a double to right field to score Watson and Furr before Witt hit her third career home run to cap off the scoring in the inning.
The Yellow Jackets looked to get back into the game in the fifth after scoring three runs, but senior outfielder
Lauren Lewis helped stifle the WVSU comeback attempt by throwing out a West Virginia State runner at third base from center field for the final out of the inning.
Freshman pitcher/outfielder
Darby Fitzpatrick came on in the sixth inning to help seal the win for Concord, retiring four straight batters to end the game.
Pritchard (3-3) picked up the win in the circle, tossing 5.2 innings while giving up six hits and striking out a career-high three batters.
Witt finished 3-for-4 on the day with three RBI, a career-high.
Also tallying multiple hits for Concord were Stahl, Beatty, and Furr, who each had two.
Concord returns to action 3:00 p.m. Monday at Charleston.
