WISE, Va. – The Concord University softball team fell in a pair of games to UVa.-Wise, 8-2 and 11-3, Wednesday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at Cavalier Field.
CU drops to 12-16 overall and 9-9 in the conference while the Cavaliers improve to 22-12 and 11-7 against MEC teams.
Game 1: UVa.-Wise 8 – Concord 2
UVa.-Wise broke open a 2-2 tie in the fifth inning with six unanswered runs as it went on to win the first contest.
Sophomore second baseman / shortstop got the Mountain Lions on the board three batters into the game with a solo home run—her sixth home run of the season. However, the Cavaliers responded with a run in the second to knot the game.
After three of the first four batters reached base to begin the Concord fourth inning, sophomore pitcher / outfielder
Darby Fitzpatrick came up with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly to push CU back in front, 2-1. The flyout scored senior third baseman
Alycea Watson who had reached on a bunt single earlier in the inning.
UVa.-Wise came right back with a run in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2.
After the Concord side was retired in the fifth, the Cavaliers plated six runs in their half of the inning to grab an 8-2 advantage.
The Mountain Lions were only able to get two base runners aboard in their final two at-bats as they fell by six runs.
Witt was 2-for-4 with the solo home run as she led the CU offense.
Fitzpatrick (8-6) was charged with the loss. She struck out two batters and allowed eight hits over four innings.
Game 2: UVa.-Wise 11 – Concord 3
Once again a late rally from the Cavaliers was too much for Concord to overcome as they scored seven runs in the sixth inning.
Like game one, Witt powered a CU run in the first inning as her one-out double drove in senior catcher / designated hitter
Nicole Neri. But, UVa.-Wise plated two runs in its first at-bat to take a 2-1 lead after one.
The one-run deficit would be short lived as Neri recorded her own RBI with a single, scoring freshman catcher / third baseman
Kaitlyn Stewart, in the third inning.
A two-out home run from UVa.-Wise in the third and a leadoff home run from the Cavaliers in the fourth inning propelled them to a 4-2 edge. However, Neri notched her second RBI of the game with a run-scoring single in the fifth that brought in junior first baseman
Lauren Blunt to bring CU to within 4-3.
The Mountain Lions were unable to push across junior outfielder
Abby Beatty who led off the sixth inning with a single and represented the tying run.
UVa.-Wise scored seven times in the home half of the sixth inning to win the contest.
Neri tied her career best with three while also notching two RBI. Witt added to her MEC lead in doubles as she tallied two in the nightcap to bring her season total to 14.
Sophomore first baseman / pitcher
Rachel Pritchard was the losing pitcher for CU.
CU travels to Fairmont State 3:00 p.m. Friday as the games have been moved from Sunday to Friday.
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