GLENVILLE, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team secured a Sunday afternoon split against Glenville State in a Mountain East Conference doubleheader, winning the second game 6-3 after dropping the first contest, 5-3.
The Mountain Lions are now 30-16-1 overall and 19-11 in the MEC while Glenville State is 30-14 overall and 18-12 versus conference foes. The win puts Concord one win Monday afternoon —or one West Virginia State loss—away from an MEC Tournament spot.
Game 1: Glenville State 5 - Concord 3
Concord's late-game comeback bid fell just short as the Pioneers held on for a two-run victory.
The first four runs of the contest were scored by GSU before the Mountain Lions got a run back in the fourth. Freshman infielder/pitcher
MJ Hunter's leadoff single and stolen base put him into scoring position for junior outfielder
Kyle Keenan to plate Hunter on a single in the fourth.
Trailing 5-1 in the sixth, Keenan bagged his second RBI of the game with a solo home run, his fourth of the season.
The deficit remained three into the seventh. Back-to-back one-out singles from junior outfielder
Josh Adkins and freshman catcher
Joey Duffer brought the tying run to the plate. Sophomore infielder
Zack Saryeldin scored Duffer on an RBI single. However, Glenville State was able to strand the tying run on base with consecutive outs to end the game.
Keenan finished game one 2-for-3 with two RBI. Adkins added two hits.
Sophomore pitcher
Andrew Neff (8-4) was charged with the loss as he tossed his eighth complete game of the season. He gave up five runs and struck out six.
Game 2: Concord 6 – Glenville State 3
CU rallied from an early 3-1 deficit as it scored five unanswered runs to go 1-1 at Sue Morris Complex.
The Pioneers scored two runs in the bottom of the first to jump out early on the Mountain Lions. And both teams plated a run in the second with Concord's coming on a groundout that brought in sophomore infielder
Daniel Layne.
The Mountain Lions manufactured two runs in the third after back-to-back walks to start the inning. A sacrifice fly brought in Hunter before fifth-year senior infielder
Anthony Stehlin scored on a two-out single by Layne to tie the game at 3-3.
Still knotted 3-3 into the fifth inning, Keenan led off the frame with a walk before sophomore catcher/infielder Satcher laced an 0-1 pitch over the left field fence for his ninth home run of the season to give CU its first lead of the afternoon.
Concord tacked on another run in the sixth on a sacrifice fly by Keenan, giving sophomore pitcher
Eddie Blake some insurance. After allowing the three runs in the first two innings, Blake (6-4) retired 16 of the final 18 batters he faced. The only runners he allowed was a fourth-inning double and a two-out walk in the seventh.
Blake scattered three runs (two earned) on five hits and struck out nine, one off his career high.
After a strong game one, Adkins paced CU's offense by going 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Layne added two hits and a run scored. Satcher drove in three runs.
Concord and GSU finish the four-game series 1:00 p.m. Monday at Anderson Field. Prior to the games, outfielder
Brandon Bayne, pitcher
Gabe Garcia, pitcher
Dan Nicholls and Stehlin will be recognized on Senior Day.
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