Concord Uses 12-Run Second Game to Split at Charleston

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team split its Mountain East Conference doubleheader against Charleston Sunday afternoon at UC Softball Field.

Game 1: Charleston 9 – Concord 7
Concord (9-23, 1-11 MEC) made a late-game comeback effort scoring three runs in the top of the seventh inning, however, the Charleston (16-12, 8-4 MEC) lead was too great to overcome.

Down 6-0 in the top of the third inning, fifth-year senior outfielder Hanna Hylton hit a leadoff single, then advanced to second on a wild pitch, and Freshman second baseman/outfielder Aubrey Matice singled before senior pitcher/outfielder Laura Thompson doubled to score both runners. Thompson would score on a single by freshman shortstop/utility player Courtney Raines to cut Charleston's lead to 6-3.

UC went on to score three runs in the bottom half of the sixth inning.

Down 9-4 in the top of the seventh inning, freshman third baseman Kylee Stacy reached on an error. And senior third baseman/outfielder Sarah Thompson followed by legging out an infield single. With two outs, junior catcher/outfielder Jolie Privett walked to load the bases. A single from freshman pitcher/infielder Rachael Koller cleared the bases and made it a 9-7 game.

At the plate, S. Thompson, Koller, and Matice tallied two hits each. Koller recorded three RBI, while L. Thompson drove in two RBI in the game. Concord as a team had 10 hits in game one.

L. Thompson (0-3) was the losing pitcher, allowing six earned runs.

Game 2: Concord 12 - Charleston 1
Concord scored four runs in the top of the fifth inning and five runs in the top of the sixth inning to defeat Charleston in six innings.

Scoreless after an inning, Concord started the top of the second with Raines and Privett both reaching on errors. With both runners in scoring position, Koller doubled into the right center field gap to score Raines and Privett and put Concord up 2-0.

In the top of the fourth inning, Raines was hit by a pitch. Back-to-back groundouts allowed her to advance to third. Matice singled to center field to score Raines and put CU up 3-0.

Concord continued to extend its lead in the top of the fifth inning. Freshman utility player Delaney Fulk led off the inning with a single. Two batters later, Stacy singled and advanced Fulk up to second base. S. Thompson reached on an error that allowed Fulk to score. On the play, S. Thompson reached second base while Stacy stopped at third. A single from Privett allowed both runners to score and Privett advanced to second on the throw to the plate. Privett then scored on an RBI single from Koller to extend the CU lead to 7-0.

In the top of the sixth, Concord worked the bases loaded for S. Thompson to rope a two-RBI double to score Fulk and L. Thompson, while Stacy advanced to third. Raines reached on a fielder's choice to load the bases once again. Privett then hit a two-RBI single that scored Stacy and S. Thompson and move Raines to second base. Raines advanced to third on a fielder's choice and scored on a single from Matice to give Concord a 12-0 lead.

Offensively, Concord had 11 hits as a team. Privett, Koller, and Matice each had two hits in the game. Privett also recorded four RBI, while S. Thompson and Koller had three RBI each.

Freshman pitcher/first baseman Caitlyn Bauer (5-9) earned the win in a complete game effort in the circle. Bauer tossed three strikeouts and allowed one earned run.  

Concord returns home to play Glenville State in a MEC doubleheader Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. at the CU Softball Field.