ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team earned a sweep of West Virginia State Sunday afternoon, 6-2 and 5-4, in Mountain East Conference play at Anderson Field.
Game 1: Concord 6 – West Virginia State 2
The Mountain Lions (18-9, 9-7 MEC) scored six unanswered runs in the middle innings to pull away from WVSU (14-16, 10-6 MEC) in the first game.
West Virginia State scored a run in the first, but it was answered by an RBI double from junior catcher
Jakob Divers in the first inning. The Mountain Lions kept the scoring going in the bottom of the second as junior infielder
Nathan Neff scored after he had walked to lead off the frame.
Up 2-1 in the third, senior outfielder
Evan Webb sent a two-run home over the left center field fence for his first of two home runs in the doubleheader.
The support was enough for sophomore pitcher
Logan Morrison who threw five innings, scattering six hits and a run to improve to 4-2 on the season. The Luray, Virginia native also struck out six batters.
CU added to the lead in the fifth inning as Neff sacrificed sophomore
Anthony Stehlin across home plate and junior outfielder
Ryan Fralin came up with a run-scoring single with two outs to bring in Webb who had been intentionally walked earlier in the frame.
Stehlin and freshman pitcher
Bailey McFatridge combined for the final six outs of the game.
Divers, Fralin and junior outfielder
Adam Linkous all had two while Webb had two RBI with the home run.
Game 2: Concord 5 – West Virginia State 4
CU held off a late West Virginia State to complete the Sunday sweep of the Yellow Jackets.
The only run scored until the fifth inning was a two-out single through the right side by WVSU's Andrew Stone in the third inning.
But, the Concord offense exploded for five runs to take control of the game. Consecutive singles by Fralin and freshman catcher
Chance Davis got the rally started. Then, consecutive groundouts moved the runners station to station with Davis scoring on the second grounder. Stehlin put CU ahead with a single through the left side before Divers did the same during the next at-bat to push the Mountain Lions ahead 3-1.
The biggest hit of the inning came off the bat of Webb as he hit his second home run of the day with a homer out to left field.
Holding a 5-1 lead with three outs to get, Concord had to fight off the Yellow Jackets in the seventh. Back-to-back one out walks and a double brought the tying run to the plate in a 5-3 game. Stone, who had started the game for West Virginia State on the mound, ripped a triple into the right center gap to score a run.
With one out needed for the win, Stehlin snared a line drive off the bat of WVSU's Connor Slagill as Concord held on for the win.
Stehlin earned his second save of the season as he notched the final two outs. Junior pitcher
Trent Abernathy moved to 4-0 on the season as he yielded three runs on three hits with four strikeouts.
Stehlin and Webb each had two hits in the nightcap.
Concord hosts Winston-Salem State 3:00 p.m. Tuesday at Anderson Field.
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