Concord Goes 1-1 at West Virginia State

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team split with West Virginia State Friday afternoon in Mountain East Conference action.
 
CU (19-10, 7-3 MEC) dropped the first game 6-3 before taking game two over the Yellow Jackets (14-7, 7-3 MEC) 4-2 in eight innings.
 
Game 1: West Virginia State 6 – Concord 3
West Virginia State plated four runs in the fifth inning to separate itself from the Mountain Lions.
 
Junior utility Jenna Witt homered with two outs in the first inning to give Concord a 1-0 lead, but West Virginia State scored twice in the bottom of the frame to grab a 2-1 advantage.
 
However, senior utility Kylie Kent doubled to lead off the top of the second which helped CU tie the game as she scored on a one-out single by senior outfielder Abby Beatty. Tied at 2-2, WVSU scored four runs in the fifth inning, including a three-run homer to take a 6-2 lead.
 
With one out in the sixth, Witt clubbed her second home run of the contest to get Concord within 6-3. But, the next five batters were retired by West Virginia State as it hung on for the win.
 
Witt finished with two home runs in the contest. Freshman pitcher/outfielder Laura Thompson (4-5) was charged with the loss as she allowed six earned runs.
 
Game 2: Concord 4 – West Virginia State 2 (Eight Innings)
Sophomore outfielder Dani Bloomingdale delivered the go-ahead RBI in the eighth inning before CU won by two runs.
 
Witt blasted her third home run of the doubleheader and fifth of the season to push Concord ahead 2-0 in the third inning.
 
Sophomore outfielder/pitcher Cartney Schoolcraft used the lead to strike out six batters in the first five innings of the contest while only giving up two hits and one unearned run. Down 2-1, West Virginia State tied the game in the sixth with a two-out single.
 
The Mountain Lions were able to get the go-ahead run to third base in the seventh, but was unable to plate a run. Junior utility Amber Stokes walked to lead off the eighth and start the Concord rally.
 
After advancing on a sacrifice bunt, Stokes moved to third on a single before Bloomingdale's base knock back through the middle to bring in the go-ahead run. The Mountain Lions added another run as Thompson brought in sophomore utility Skylar Jenkins on a third consecutive single.
 
After leaving the game, Schoolcraft re-entered to pick up the win and move to 8-2 on the season. The Winfield, West Virginia native tossed 7.1 total innings as she struck out seven batters.
 
Witt was 3-for-4 and finished a triple shy of the cycle. Thompson finished 2-for-5 at the top of the order. Jenkins also had two hits for CU.
 
Concord is on the road Saturday to face Charleston at 2:00 p.m.