Concord Opens West Virginia State Series with Doubleheader Split

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team split a doubleheader with West Virginia State Sunday afternoon at Anderson Field in a pair of Mountain East Conference. CU won the first game 3-2 before West Virginia State won the second game by the same score.

Concord is now 19-11-1 overall and 8-6 versus MEC foes. West Virginia State is still .500 at 13-13 and 5-9 in the conference.

Game 1: Concord 3 – West Virginia State 2
Sophomore pitcher Andrew Neff shut down the WVSU offense after the first inning and sophomore outfielder D.J. Christian provided all three RBI in the victory.

Two runners reached in the first inning as the Yellow Jackets got out to an early 1-0 lead, but from there Neff only allowed one runner into scoring position from the second through the fifth innings.

It didn't take Concord long to answer the West Virginia State scoring as Christian drove in sophomore catcher/infielder Chris Satcher with two outs in the bottom of the second. Christian was right in the middle of the scoring in the third inning as well.

With one out in the frame and the bases loaded, Christian dropped a single into center field to score junior outfielder Kyle Keenan and Satcher to give CU a 3-1 advantage.

Neff allowed a two-out double in the fourth and a two-out single in the fifth, but kept the edge intact. With WVSU chasing the lead, he minimized the scoring in the sixth after a leadoff single came around to score. The only 1-2-3 inning he tossed was his final frame as he finished the game with a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts.

Neff improved to 6-2 on the mound as he scattered six hits and two runs in his fifth complete game of the season. The Fredericksburg, Virginia native struck out seven.

Christian was 2-for-3 with three RBI. Five other CU batters combined for hits in the contest.

Game 2: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 2
A late Concord comeback came up short as the Yellow Jackets scored in the seventh to secure a split.

An early duel broke out between the starting pitchers; Concord's Eddie Blake and WVSU's Nick Loftis.
 
West Virginia State scratched across a run in the third on a two-out RBI single. The Mountain Lions had their chance in the bottom of the inning, but left the bases loaded. Blake rebounded by retiring WVSU in order in the fourth before the Yellow Jackets plated a run in the fifth.

The Moneta, Virginia native had to work around a leadoff triple in the sixth to keep the deficit at 2-0. After escaping the jam, Concord gave Blake the run support he was looking for.

Keenan led off the frame with a single to center field. And the next batter, Satcher, launched his fourth home run of the season to tie the game at 2-2.

The deadlock was short-lived, however, as West Virginia State went back up on a leadoff home run in the seventh. CU got the go-ahead run on base thanks to a leadoff walk from fifth-year senior Brandon Bayne, but could not put together a sustained rally.

Blake was the hard luck loser in the contest as he tossed a complete game, allowing three runs (two earned) on seven hits. He struck out two.

Satcher had two hits and drove in a pair of runs. Sophomore infielder Zack Saryeldin was 3-for-4 at the top of the order, including his 18^th and 19^th doubles of the season.

Concord and West Virginia State finish the four-game series 1:00 p.m. Monday with a doubleheader at Anderson Field.