ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team split the final two games of its weekend series with Charleston Sunday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at Anderson Field.
The Mountain Lions (23-19, 16-12 MEC) won game one 2-1 before CU (28-18, 20-8 MEC) took game two 8-5.
Game 1: Concord 2 – Charleston 1
Concord scored both of its runs in the bottom of the sixth and stranded the bases loaded full of Golden Eagles in the seventh to hang on for the win.
Charleston plated its only run in the first inning on an RBI single two batters into the game to take a 1-0 lead.
After giving up the first-inning score, junior pitcher
Will Guay settled into a rhythm that saw him record six straight outs on strikeouts during the fourth and fifth innings. Guay nearly had an immaculate inning in the fifth as he struck out the side in 11 pitches.
Down to its final four outs of the game and still down one, junior catcher / outfielder
Jordan Clark drove the first pitch he saw with two outs in the sixth over the left field fence to tie the game at 1-1.
Junior infielder
Brett Simmons and sophomore infielder
Jakob Divers followed with singles before senior infielder
Chad Frazier was hit by a pitch to keep the two-out rally going. Sophomore infielder
Nathan Neff smacked a bases-loaded single through the left side to score Simmons while UC recorded the final out at home plate to end the inning.
A leadoff single and a sacrifice bunt put the tying run in scoring position before consecutive hit batsmen loaded the bases with one out. On in relief of Guay, sophomore pitcher
Bryson Booher induced a groundball to Neff at third base who threw out the potential tying run at home plate. The next batter, UC's Gianfranco Morello, flew out down the left field line as Concord held on for the win.
Guay pitched 6.1 innings while striking out seven and scattering one run on six hits as he improved to 3-4 on the season. Booher picked up his first career save by recording the final two outs of the game.
Neff was only the Concord batter with multiple hits, but Clark was 1-for-1 with two walks in the contest including the solo home run.
Game 2: Charleston 8 – Concord 5
UC scored three runs in the first inning and held off multiple Concord rallies throughout the game to earn the day two split and series split.
The Mountain Lions got on the board in the second as senior catcher
Paul Williams scored on an RBI groundout. Down 4-1 in the third, Concord scratched across another score in the third on Williams' sacrifice fly that plated Frazier.
Charleston took a 6-2 lead to the bottom of the fifth, but CU fought back for two runs in the frame. Sophomore outfielder
Adam Linkous touched home on a UC error after a one-out triple, and Williams rounded the bases on junior outfielder
Evan Webb's single back through the middle.
The Golden Eagles stretched its lead to 7-4 in the sixth before Divers' RBI single plated Simmons in the bottom of the inning. But it was as close as CU would get in the nightcap as Charleston won by three.
Simmons had a season-best three including his fourth double. Williams scored two runs in the contest.
Freshman utility
Anthony Stehlin (3-6) was charged with the loss as he allowed three earned runs in 3.1 innings.
Concord hosts Bluefield State in a non-conference game Tuesday at Anderson Field.
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