Concord Opens 2023 Campaign Versus Bluefield State

Concord Stats - Bluefield State Stats - Live Video

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team opens the season with a doubleheader versus Mercer County rival Bluefield State 12:00 p.m. Saturday.
 
LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will have live streaming video of the series.
 
Live Video
 
SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 55-5
 
LAST FIVE MEETINGS
February 27, 2022: Concord 8 – Bluefield State 4 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
February 26, 2022: Bluefield State 4 – Concord 3 (Athens, W.Va.)
April 30, 2019: Concord 14 – Bluefield State 13 (Bluefield, W.Va.)
April 11, 2019: Concord 15 – Bluefield State 2 (Athens, W.Va.)
May 1, 2018: Concord 9 – Bluefield Stats 6 (Athens, W.Va.)
 
CONCORD AT A GLANCE
2022 Overall Record: 33-19-1
2022 MEC Record: 20-12
2022 Home Record: 16-7-1
2022 Away Record: 14-10
2022 Neutral Record: 3-2
 
STAY HOT KID
Junior infielder Zack Saryeldin finished last season by hitting .420 to go with 23 doubles which was top 10 in NCAA Division II. The Weston, Florida native's batting average never dipped below .412 for the season. Dating back to the 2021 season, Saryeldin's batting average has stayed above .400 for 60 consecutive games. Graduate outfielder Josh Adkins entered April 11 batting .298 for the season, but finished the year hitting .375 as he hit .484 (32-for-66) over the final 23 games of the season. The Nitro, West Virginia native had 10 multi-hit games in that stretch. Junior infielder Chris Satcher kept his batting average above .400 for most of the year as it only dipped below .400 three times in the final 23 games of 2022, finishing at .401 for the spring.
 
HOME SWEET HOME
Head coach Devin Smith makes his head coaching debut after nine seasons as an assistant at Concord. The Wytheville, Virginia native gets to enjoy the first 16 games of his career at Anderson Field. Last year, Concord was 16-7-1 at home. Offensively, the Mountain Lions scored 10 runs per game at home in 2022. Six of the team-best 10 home runs for Satcher came at Anderson Field, and 20 of the single-season program record 23 doubles for Saryeldin were hit in Athens. And junior outfielder D.J. Christian drove in 19 of his 26 runs at home last season.
 
RIVALRY REVISITED
Concord and Bluefield State split two games last year as the road team won in the brief two-game series in February. Despite giving up just one earned run, CU fell in the first game of the series, 4-3. Senior pitcher Andrew Neff set the single-game program record with 13 strikeouts as he scattered seven hits over nine innings. Saryeldin had five hits in the two games, including a home run and three RBI at Bluefield State. Adkins and Satcher each had two RBI in an 8-4 victory. Junior pitcher Eddie Blake earned the win at BSU by tossing seven innings and striking out three.
 
BLUEFIELD STATE AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 2-1
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 2-1
 
SCOUTING THE BIG BLUES
Bluefield State opened up the 2023 season by taking two of three games at Anderson. After getting shutout by the Trojans in game one, BSU got a complete-game shutout from Princeton, West Virginia native Zach Powell in a 1-0 victory. The Big Blues outslugged AU 10-9 in the rubber game. Cole Cote had a home run and four RBI last weekend. Head coach Drew Bailey is in CU's Hall of Fame, playing at Concord from 2008-10 before being drafted by the Oakland Athletics.