NUTTER FORT, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team dropped a pair of games to open the 2021 season as it lost to Wheeling, 5-3, and Salem, 6-4, at Frank Loria Field Friday afternoon.
Game 1: Wheeling 5 – Concord 3
Concord staked junior pitcher
Dan Nicholls out to a 3-0 lead through three innings, but five runs over three later innings by WU was the difference in the game.
Freshman utility
Eddie Blake delivered a two-out, two-run double in the bottom of the first as he plated freshman infielder
Zack Saryelding and sophomore outfielder
Josh Adkins.
Adkins cracked a one-out solo home run in the bottom of the third to push Concord's lead to three. It was the first home run of the Nitro, West Virginia native's career.
With four strikeouts through three innings, Nicholls worked around two base runners in the fourth, and struck out two more Cardinals in a scoreless fifth inning.
Wheeling was able to get a run across on Nicholls in the sixth inning before adding two runs in the seventh and a pair of runs in the eighth to go up 5-3. Sophomore outfielder
Richard Ortiz drew a leadoff walk in the bottom of the ninth to bring the tying run to the plate, but the Mountain Lions were unable to generate any further offense in their last at-bat.
Adkins had two hits to pace the offense. Nicholls fanned a career-best nine Wheeling hitters over six innings. He also gave up an unearned run on four hits.
Game 2: Salem 6 – Concord 4
The Mountain Lions were unable to hold off a Salem rally in the eighth inning as CU fell by two runs.
Adkins picked up right where he left off in game one as he drove in Saryeldin with a two-out double in the first inning. The lead remained until the Tigers notched a leadoff home run to start the home half of the third inning, and then took a 2-1 edge in the bottom of the fourth inning.
Concord responded in the back-and-forth game in the top of the fifth. After the first two batters of the inning reached in front of Saryeldin, he brought them in on a single back through the middle. Adkins added an insurance run in the seventh as his second double of the day scored freshman outfielder
D.J. Christian for the second time in the game.
Salem plated a run in the bottom of the seventh to get within 4-3, and took the lead with a three-run eighth inning.
Adkins had a second straight 2-for-4 game with two RBI. Saryeldin added two more hits and a pair of RBI.
Trent Abernathy struck out a career-best 12 over seven innings as he allowed six hits and six runs.
Concord and Salem are back at it 11:00 a.m. Saturday from Frank Loria Field.
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