ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team edged out a pair of 3-1 wins from Wheeling Jesuit Sunday afternoon at Anderson Field to open up Mountain East Conference play.
The Mountain Lions improve to 8-6 overall and 2-0 in league play while WJU drops to 1-9 on the season and 0-2 in the MEC.
Game 1: Concord 3 – Wheeling Jesuit 1
CU came through with three runs in the first three innings, and it proved to be more than enough for junior pitcher Willi Guay.
Sophomore outfielder
Adam Linkous notched a two-out single in the second to bring in junior catcher / outfielder
Jordan Clark to push CU ahead 1-0.
Concord's offense rallied for two more runs in the third inning as sophomore infielder
Nathan Neff brought home freshman utility
Anthony Stehlin who led off the inning by getting hit with a pitch. Three batters later Clark laced a single through the left side of the infield to score senior infielder
Chad Frazier.
The three runs were a good cushion for Guay who allowed just four hits and one unearned run that came across in the fourth inning. The West Palm Beach, Florida native struck out a total of 10 batters including six of the first nine hitters he faced. It was the most strikeouts for a CU pitcher since junior pitcher
Troy Beckner fanned 12 Fairmont State hitters March 30 of last season.
Additionally, Guay allowed just three runners to reach second base and improved to 2-1 on the season with his complete-game effort that included no walks.
Clark, Linkous and Neff paced the offense with two hits each.
Game 2: Concord 3 – Wheeling Jesuit 1
Sophomore pitcher
Trent Abernathy held the WJU offense at bay until a clutch two-out, three-run home run by junior outfielder
Evan Webb in the sixth inning.
The Cardinals struck first with an unearned run scoring on a two-out error by CU.
Abernathy and Wheeling Jesuit's Josh Bell traded zeros on the scoreboard as Abernathy held Wheeling Jesuit to three hits through six innings and issued just two walks during that time.
With the Cardinals still leading 1-0 into the bottom of the sixth, Frazier drew a one-out walk. Senior catcher
Paul Williams followed by beating out an infielder single. Down to its final out in the frame, Webb worked a full count against Bell. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat and the 90
th pitch of the contest for Bell, Webb launched a three-run home run over the right field fence to give the Mountain Lions a 3-1 advantage.
It was the first home run of the season for Webb and the first for CU as a team since February 25.
Abernathy allowed an infielder single to start the top of the seventh, but induced a flyout and groundout as well as earning his ninth strikeout of the day to secure the win for Concord. Abernathy moved to 1-0 on the year.
The Harrisonburg, Virginia native punched a career-best nine batters for the game while allowing an unearned on four hits.
Webb had two of the five hits in the nightcap for CU.
The Mountain Lions continue MEC play 11:00 a.m. Monday as it hosts West Liberty at Anderson Field
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