BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team won the first two games of the West Virginia Wesleyan series, 12-6, 6-3, Friday night at Hank Ellis Field in a Mountain East Conference South Division series.
Concord has now was 12 straight games as it improves to 21-12 overall and 17-1 in the league. WVWC is now 7-26 and 3-15 versus MEC foes.
Game 1: Concord 12 – West Virginia Wesleyan 6
Concord scored the first eight runs of the game and never looked back as it won the opener of the four-game series.
CU plated a pair of runs in the first inning as graduate outfielder
Josh Adkins doubled in a run before crossing home plate on a wild pitch later in the inning. The Mountain Lions really got the bats going in a three-run second inning. Sophomore utility
MJ Hunter brought in the first run of the inning on a run-scoring single before he and junior infielder
Zack Saryeldin scored on Adkins' second RBI hit of the day, a two-run single. After a walk to graduate outfielder
Kyle Keenan, junior infielder
Chris Satcher uncorked his fourth home run of the season.
Wesleyan responded with five unanswered runs to get within 8-5 of Concord after four innings.
However, the Mountain Lions took back momentum with three runs in the top of the fifth. Saryeldin doubled in junior infielder
Daniel Layne before Adkins knocked in two more runs on a single. Concord added a 12
th run in the top of the seventh as Hunter scored on a wild pitch.
Friday was the third career four-hit game for Adkins as he finished 4-for-4 with three singles and a double. He added a career-high five RBI. Saryeldin had a 3-for-5 day with three runs scored and two doubles. Satcher collected three RBI. Hunter was 2-for-3 with two runs scored from the nine spot.
Junior pitcher
Andrew Neff (8-1) struck out seven over six innings as he picked up his sixth conference win of the year.
Game 2: Concord 6 – West Virginia Wesleyan 3
A go-ahead, third-inning grand slam by senior catcher
Hunter Steel was paired with another stellar outing from sophomore pitcher/infielder
Rylee Nicholas as CU edged the Bobcats in the night cap.
Both teams scored a pair of runs in the first inning as junior infielder
Michael Dupont and junior outfielder
D.J. Christian Jr. both had two-out, run-scoring hits to account for the Concord scoring.
A lightning delay in the top of the second inning halted the game for approximately 45 minutes. After the delay, the Mountain Lions took the lead in the third inning.
An error and a walk preceded a base hit from Layne to load the base for Steel with one out. The Woodbridge, Virginia native pulled his second home run of the season out to left field, his first career home run to push CU in front 6-2.
The six runs were enough for Nicholas. The Summersville, Virginia native came on in the second inning and allowed just four batters to reach second base over the next six innings. Nicholas (4-4) evened his record Friday night as he tallied eight strikeouts while giving up just three hits and an unearned run.
Dupont was 2-for-4 with a double and an RBI. Christian added two base hits and an RBI. Steel's only hit was the grand slam to account for his four RBI.
CU and Wesleyan play the third and fourth games of the series 1:00 p.m. Saturday.
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