ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team rolled to a pair of wins, 23-1 and 13-6, to open a four-game series with West Virginia Wesleyan Friday afternoon at Anderson Field in Mountain East Conference play.
Concord improves to 22-12-1 overall this season and 11-7 in the MEC. WVWC drops to 2-27 overall and 2-16 versus conference teams.
Game 1: Concord 23 – West Virginia Wesleyan 1
The Mountain Lions scored at least two runs in every at-bat as they plated a season high in runs to start the day.
Concord opened the contest by tallying five runs in the first inning. Four of the five runs came with two outs, including a two-RBI single from sophomore outfielder
D.J. Christian which was the start of a big day for the West Palm Beach, Florida native.
After a two-run second, junior outfielder
Kyle Keenan highlighted a three-run third with a two-run home run out to left field—his second homer of the season. A pair of doubles from junior infielder
Daniel Layne and freshman catcher
Joey Duffer aided in a two-run fourth.
Up 12-1, CU tallied nine runs in the fifth inning. Fifth-year senior  infielder
Anthony Stehlin led off the inning with a double before collecting his second double later in the frame that scored a pair of runs. Sophomore infielder
Michael Dupont added a two-run double down the right field line as a pinch hitter to assist in the big inning.
Sophomore infielder
Zack Saryeldin collected Concord's 10
th double of the game that scored two runs in the bottom of the sixth. The 10 doubles for the Mountain Lions are a single-game program best and it is the third-most doubles by a team in Division II in 2022.
Eight of the nine Concord starters had two or more hits as the Maroon and Gray registered 21 hits. Christian, Layne and Stehlin all had three hits. Keenan and Saryeldin both drove in three runs. And Christian notched a career-best five RBI.
Sophomore pitcher
Andrew Neff (7-2) earned his seventh straight win by tossing six innings, only allowing three hits and a run.
Game 2: Concord 13 – West Virginia Wesleyan 6
CU erupted for nine runs in the fifth to turn a 4-3 deficit into a comfortable eight-run advantage.
Three runs came in on bases loaded walks as the first six batters in the inning reached without Concord recording a hit. With the bases still loaded for Christian, he crushed his first career grand slam—and his first home run—out to right field to give the Mountain Lions a 10-4 lead. The rally was extended as Saryeldin scored on a Stehlin base hit, and he came around on sophomore catcher/infielder
Chris Satcher's RBI double.
WVWC jumped out to a 2-0 lead through 2.5 innings before Concord tied the game in the bottom of the third. The Bobcats added a pair of runs in the top of the fourth, and CU was able to chop the deficit in half on a Christian sacrifice fly.
Wesleyan threatened with three straight extra-base hits in the top of the seventh, but was unable to extend a rally after getting within 13-6.
Christian tallied five more RBI in the nightcap for 10 RBI on the day. He started the day with 11 RBI for the season. Saryeldin was a perfect 4-for-4 with two doubles and two singles. His first-inning double broke the single-season record for doubles at Concord with 22, surpassing Joey Miller from the 2014 season.
Stehlin bagged two hits and scored three times.
Sophomore pitcher
Eddie Blake (4-3) struck out a career-best 10 batters over 6+ innings. He allowed five earned runs.
Concord and Wesleyan finish up the four-game series 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Anderson Field.
Â
