ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team ran its winning streak to 10 games with 7-5 and 7-2 victories over Davis & Elkins in the final two games of a Mountain East Conference South Division series at Anderson Field Monday afternoon.
CU moves to 19-12 overall this season and stays atop the MEC South with a 15-1 record. Davis & Elkins is 7-24 and 6-10 after Monday. The Mountain Lions' 10-game winning streak is the longest since March 20-April 2, 2010.
Game 1: Concord 7 – Davis & Elkins 5
Concord erased an early 3-0 deficit before holding a late Davis & Elkins charge to secure the win.
The Senators scored three runs in the top of the first inning, but CU immediately responded with four tallies in the bottom of the frame. An RBI single through the left side by graduate outfielder
Kyle Keenan got the Mountain Lions on the board before an RBI groundout and sacrifice fly tied the score. Senior catcher
Hunter Steel capped the rally by beating out an infield single that scored junior infielder
Chris Satcher with two outs.
Another infield single by Steel and a throwing error on the same plate scored junior outfielder
D.J. Christian Jr. in the bottom of the third after Christian had led off the inning with a single and stole second. Sophomore utility
MJ Hunter added a sixth run for CU in the third.
D&E got two runs across in the sixth, and had the tying run on base with two outs, but Steel was able to throw out the runner at second base on a steal attempt to maintain a 6-5 edge.
Christian came through with a two-out, run-scoring hit in the sixth for a welcomed insurance run, scoring Keenan.
A double and a walk by the Senators in the seventh pushed the go-ahead run to the plate, but junior pitcher
Eddie Blake induced a groundout to end the game.
Christian, Keenan and Steel all had two hits in the game. Christian tallied two RBI.
Blake (5-3) tossed 6.1 innings as he allowed two runs on seven hits and struck out five.
Game 2: Concord 7 – Concord 2
The Mountain Lions used more early offense to pull away from Davis & Elkins in the nightcap.
Again, it was D&E that struck first as it scored in the top of the first to go up 1-0.
CU used back-to-back extra-base hits to take the lead away in the second inning. A leadoff single by junior infielder
Brendan Brady was followed by a triple from Christian. Christian was allowed to score on an RBI double by junior infielder
Daniel Layne.
Two more runs came in during a brief rally in the third. Junior infielder
Zack Saryeldin led off the frame with a single before freshman outfielder
Dawson Gragg drove a double to left center field. Saryeldin touched home on a groundout and Gragg raced in on a sacrifice fly.
Now with the lead at 4-2 in the fifth, Concord loaded the bases with three straight singles to start the inning. Satcher came up and lofted a single to right field for his second and third RBI of the game. A bunt base hit from Brady brought in Gragg.
Three pitchers, Brady, Keenan and Hunter held the Senators to eight hits, but half came with the bases empty. Keenan (1-1) picked up the win as he tossed 2.2 innings and struck out three. Hunter started the game by going 3.1 innings and posting three strikeouts as he was charged with both runs.
Brady, Christian, Gragg and Saryeldin all had two hits while Saryeldin and Gragg both scored twice. Satcher was 1-for-2 with three RBI.
Tuesday's scheduled game against Bluefield State has been postponed. CU's next games are a doubleheader at West Virginia Wesleyan 1:00 p.m. Saturday.
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