INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team lost both games to West Virginia State 3-2 Sunday afternoon in a pair of Mountain East Conference contests at Cal Bailey Field.
Game 1: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 2 (Eight Innings)
A walk-off walk was the difference in the game as Concord (3-15, 2-12 MEC) lost in extra innings.
CU scored the first two runs of the game as junior infielder
Anthony Stehlin hit his third home run in the last two games two batters into the game. The Mountain Lions scored its second run in the fifth inning as freshman catcher
Nick Funk raced home on a passed by all from WVSU (14-6, 11-3 MEC).
Through five innings, senior pitcher
Trent Abernathy allowed just four base runners (two hits, a walk and a strikeout/dropped third strike).
In the sixth, West Virginia State scored after a leadoff double to get a run closer, and then tied the game in seventh on a leadoff home run.
Stehlin got into scoring position in the top of the eighth after a two-out walk and a steal of second base, but was left stranded. In the bottom of the frame, the Yellow Jackets loaded the bases on two walks and a single before a bases-loaded walk forced the game-winning run home.
Abernathy (0-3) went 7.2 innings as he struck out seven and scattered five hits. Stehlin had the home run while sophomore outfielder
Josh Adkins had a double in the contest, giving him four career doubles against West Virginia State.
Game 2: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 2
The Yellow Jackets scored the go-ahead run in the fifth inning as they edged CU for the second time on the day.
The Mountain Lions got a run in the third without a hit as Adkins led off the frame with a walk before stealing second and third bases. He scored two batters later on a sacrifice fly. WVSU came right back with two runs in the bottom of the third to take a 2-1 advantage.
However, Concord responded to tie the game in the top of the fourth. Stehlin led off with a single before moving to second on a groundout. A one-out single from freshman infielder
Michael Dupont brought in Stehlin.
Still tied at 2-2 in the bottom of the fifth, three of the first batters reached for West Virginia State as it went up 3-2 on a base hit into left field.
In its final two at-bats, the Mountain Lions were only able to get one man into scoring position as WVSU held off Concord.
Freshman pitcher
Andrew Neff (0-2) tossed five innings as he struck out five and gave up three earned runs.
The teams finish up their four-game set with a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader Monday at WVSU.
