Concord Readies for MEC South Lid-lifter Versus Davis & Elkins

Concord Stats - Davis & Elkins Stats - Live Stats - Live Video

ATHENS, W.Va. – Winners of six straight games, the Concord University baseball team puts its winning streak on the line as it welcomes Davis & Elkins 1:00 p.m. Friday and 1:00 p.m. Saturday for the start of Mountain East Conference South Division play at Anderson Field.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will provide live statistics and live streaming video of the four-game weekend set.

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SERIES HISTORY: Concord leads 38-13

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VERSUS DAVIS & ELKINS
April 23-24, 2022: Concord 4 – Davis & Elkins 0 (W, 4-2 W, 11-1, W, 7-4 W, 3-1) (Elkins, W.Va.)
April 25-26, 2021: Concord 3 – Davis & Elkins 1 (W, 11-4 W, 8-2 L, 9-5 W, 19-7) (Athens, W.Va.)
April 3, 2019: Concord 19 – Davis & Elkins 5 (Elkins, W.Va.)
March 13, 2019: Concord 11 – Davis & Elkins 5 (Athens, W.Va.)
April 5, 2017: Concord 7 – Davis & Elkins 4 (Athens, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 15-12
MEC Record: 11-1
Home Record: 12-10
Away Record: 3-2

GETTING THE BALL
During Concord's 11-1 start to MEC play, the best for the program since a 13-1 start to league games in 2001, the pitching duo of junior Eddie Blake and senior Andrew Neff have been strong on the mound. Blake has only allowed two earned runs in 20.2 innings of conference play, an ERA of 0.87. The Moneta, Virginia native is coming off a performance against West Liberty where he tied his career high in strikeouts (10) and was named MEC Pitcher of the Week. Meanwhile, Neff leads the MEC in wins (six) and saves (two). The Fredericksburg, Virginia native needs three strikeouts to become the fifth pitcher in program history with 200 strikeouts. In all seven appearances in which Neff has pitched at least six innings this season, he has racked up at least six strikeouts. Dating back to last season, Neff has amassed six or more strikeouts in 10 of his last 11 outings that have spanned six or more innings. Sophomore pitcher/infielder Rylee Nicholas is coming off an outing where he only allowed one earned run over six innings versus Wheeling.

HEATING UP
In Concord's six-game winning streak, junior infielder Zack Saryeldin started to find his groove at the plate. The Weston, Florida native has driven in 16 runs in the last six games while hitting a scalding .600 (12-for-20). In 12 conference games, Saryeldin is hitting .462 opposed to .326 overall. Graduate outfielder Josh Adkins helped Concord secure a sweep of Wheeling by homering twice in game two. He joins Saryeldin as CU players with two homers in the same game this spring. Adkins is tied for third in the MEC in home runs (seven). Fellow graduate outfielder Kyle Keenan is also starting to round into form as he has hit safely in eight of his last nine games, and has five multi-hit games in that span. He also has four of his five doubles for the season in the last two weeks. Junior outfielder D.J. Christian Jr. has maintained his steady stroke at the plate and leads the MEC in batting average (.429).

BREAK OUT THE BROOMS
CU has won 10 of the last 11 games versus Davis & Elkins dating back to the 2017 season, including a four-game road sweep last April. Concord won the bookends of the series by two runs each, 4-2 and 3-1. The middle two games were 11-1 and 7-4 decisions by the Mountain Lions. Adkins had multiple hits in three of the four games as he went 6-for-12. Junior infielder Daniel Layne collected a total of six RBI versus D&E, including a four-RBI performance in game two. Keenan and junior infielder Chris Satcher were not retired in game two as the duo combined to go 7-for-7. Blake and Neff combined to give up one earned run in the first two games of the series as they racked up 13 total strikeouts.

DAVIS & ELKINS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 7-20
MEC Record: 6-6
Home Record 6-2
Away Record: 1-10
Neutral Record: 0-8

SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Davis & Elkins is coming off a four-game swing where it 3-1 to even its conference record at 6-6. In a sweep of Fairmont State Tuesday, the Senators limited FSU to one run over 14 innings. D&E split with Frostburg State allowing just six total runs. Jake Spearen has tossed a team-best 30.2 innings and has 18 strikeouts. Zach McGillan has given up just three earned runs over his last 16.1 innings. Fletcher Hindman bats a team-high .339, but the RBI leader is Connor Hyde with 12. D&E is guided by first-year head coach Brett Ripley, a former West Virginia Wesleyan assistant coach.