Concord Goes 1-1 at West Virginia State

INSTITUTE, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team split a pair of games against West Virginia State in a Mountain East Conference doubleheader at Lady Jackets Field Friday afternoon.
 
CU moves to 18-14 overall and 6-6 in MEC play, while WVSU sits at 14-17 and 6-6 in MEC action.
 
Game 1: West Virginia State 3 – Concord 3 (Eight Innings)
CU tied the game in the seventh inning to force extras, but was unable to secure the win.
 
Junior infielder Kylee Stacy reached base to start the game off for CU. After a sacrifice bunt, Stacy moved over to second. Stacy then stole third base and scored on an errant WVSU throw to take a 1-0 lead.

WVSU plated runs in the second and fifth innings to lead, 2-1.
 
Despite reaching base safely in all eight innings, CU was not able to score any more runs until the top of the seventh inning.
 
Freshman infielder Kendall Morgan got the rally started with a one-out single through the right side. A base hit from sophomore pitcher/infielder Madison Hollis sent junior outfielder Delaney Fulk, who was pinch running for Morgan, to second. Then, sophomore catcher Morgan Gleason poked a base hit to right field, scoring Fulk and knotting the game, 2-2.
 
In extra innings, CU was unable to strike and eventually WVSU walked off game one, 3-2.
 
Stacy tallied four base hits in game one to secure back-to-back four-hit performances at the plate. Senior outfielder Imani Campbell and Hollis also picked up multiple hits. Gleason logged CU's only RBI in the contest.
 
The Mountain Lions outhit the Yellow Jackets 10-4.
 
Hollis (7-7) pitched the entire game for Concord, allowing four hits and only one earned run and striking out three.
 
Game 2: Concord 8 – West Virginia State 2
CU jumped on the board early and never looked back in game two.
 
After being hit by a pitch in the first at-bat of the game, Stacy moved all the way to third base on a WVSU throwing error on a batted ball by Campbell, who ended up at second with no outs. Junior infielder Courtney Raines then drove in both runners to get CU out to a 2-0 lead. Later in the inning, Gleason knocked in Raines to score three runs in the opening frame.
 
West Virginia State scored in the bottom of the first, but was answered in the third on a sac fly by Gleason as the score was 4-1.
 
WVSU scored another run in the fourth inning, but was met with three Concord runs in the fifth.
 
Hollis hit a one-out double down the left field line, while Morgan followed suit with a single the next at-bat and advanced to second. Gleason grounded out the following at bat, but scored a run for her third RBI of the game. Junior outfielder Kayla McCraw doubled through the left side, scoring Morgan and Gleason to extend CU's advantage, 7-2.
 
Campbell then doubled down the left field line with one out in the sixth. Raines hit a sac fly to score Campbell, making the score 8-2.
 
The Yellow Jackets scored for the last time in the bottom of the sixth, but was held scoreless in the seventh as CU finished off an 8-3 victory.
 
In the circle, freshman pitcher Josi Ervin (3-2) got the win, only giving up eight hits and one earned run in seven innings of work. Ervin also picked up five strikeouts.
 
Gleason was 2-for-3 in game two with three runs batted in. Stacy, Raines, and Hollis also picked up multiple hits.
 
The Mountain Lions play Charleston in an MEC doubleheader Saturday at 1:00 p.m. at the UC Softball Field.