ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team matched its best start to a conference season with 5-4 and 12-0 wins over Davis & Elkins Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at Anderson Field.
The Mountain Lions improve 17-12 overall and 13-1 in the conference—equaling the start that the 2001 team had. D&E drops to 7-22 overall and 6-8 in the MEC.
Game 1: Concord 5 – Davis & Elkins 4
CU scored all five runs in its first two at-bats as it held off a late charge from the Senators.
With two on and two outs in the bottom of the first, sophomore infielder
Brendan Brady came through with a two-run double into left center field that brought in freshman outfielder
Dawson Gragg and graduate outfielder
Kyle Keenan who had doubled in the inning as well.
Gragg came up with his first career double in the bottom of the second to push the lead to 3-0 as his extra-base hit plated sophomore utility
MJ Hunter after a two-out walk. Junior infielder
Zack Saryeldin, who had also walked behind Hunter, scored along with Gragg on an error by the Senators.
Up 5-0, the Mountain Lions allowed a run in the third inning, but carried a 5-1 lead to the fifth.
Davis & Elkins scored two, both with two outs, in the fifth inning to get within 5-3 of Concord. The Senators tacked on a run in the sixth, but the tying run was stranded at third base to end the inning.
Junior pitcher
Andrew Neff was able to retire Davis & Elkins in order in the seventh as it never posed a threat in its final at-bat.
Neff (7-1) struck out five over six innings as he allowed four runs (three earned) on seven hits.
Gragg reached base all three times as he was 2-for-2 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Brady drove in two runs.
Game 2: Concord 12 – Davis & Elkins 0
The Mountain Lions picked up their first shutout of the season as sophomore pitcher
Rylee Nicholas and senior pitcher
Nick Sanso combined to allow four hits in the nightcap.
The pitching was backed up by plenty of run support.
The scoring started in the second as three runs crossed. Gragg and Layne collected RBI in the frame on what was the start of a big game for Layne. Layne ignited a six-run fourth inning with a leadoff home run down the right field line.
Graduate outfielder
Kyle Keenan kept the line moving with a two-run single before Brady and junior outfielder
D.J. Christian Jr. both collected RBI. Batting for the second time in the inning, Layne tallied an RBI single to plate junior infielder
Chris Satcher.
The Mountain Lions tacked on three more runs in the sixth. Hunter drew a bases-loaded walk, and Saryeldin drove a two-RBI single into left field.
After Sanso allowed two hits in a scoreless first inning, Nicholas (3-4) shut down the Senators the rest of the way as he allowed just two hits in six innings. He finished with five strikeouts as he struck out three of the first five batters he faced.
Layne had his second four-hit game of the season to go with three RBI. Hunter, Keenan and Saryeldin all had two RBI.
Concord concludes its four-game series with Davis & Elkins 1:00 p.m. Monday with two games at Anderson Field.
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