ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team swept West Liberty, 10-2 and 12-5, Saturday afternoon in Mountain East Conference play at Anderson Field.
Concord evens its record at 12-12 on the year and is now 4-6 in MEC play. West Liberty falls to 7-19 overall and 4-8 against MEC foes.
Game 1: Concord 10 – West Liberty 2
Concord scored seven runs in the seventh inning and coasted to a win behind a strong pitching performance from junior
Rylee Nicholas.
After back-to-back walks to start the second, freshman outfielder
Demario Faison doubled in senior infielder
Chris Satcher to open the scoring. The next batter, sophomore utility
Dawson Gragg, sent a triple to right center field to plate two more runs.
The extra-base hit parade continued two batters later when junior utility
MJ Hunter found the right center gap for a two-run double. After leading off the inning with a base on balls, Satcher capped the rally with a two-RBI single.
The early support was more than enough for Nicholas who carried a no-hit bid into the fifth inning. He improved to 4-1 on the season as he allowed two runs on four hits and struck out four.
Junior outfielder
Demetri Jamison and fifth-year senior infielder
Zack Saryeldin connected on back-to-back home run in the fourth inning, and Satcher capped the CU scoring in the sixth inning with a run-scoring single.
Satcher was 3-for-4 with three RBI. Faison, Hunter and Jaimson all had two hits with Hunter collecting two RBI. All nine Concord batters had at least one hit in the game as the Mountain Lions racked up 15 hits with seven going for extra bases.
Game 2: Concord 12 – West Liberty 5
CU scored nine unanswered runs over its final six at-bats to pull away from the Hilltoppers.
The offenses broke out early with Concord scoring three runs in the first inning, but West Liberty answered with three runs in the bottom half—the Hilltoppers were the home team in the doubleheader.
Jamison and Satcher both recorded RBI doubles in the three-run first inning.
Gragg led off the second inning with a home run out to right field to break the 3-3 deadlock. That set the stage for a four-run frame. A sacrifice fly from senior infielder
Daniel Layne got a run in before Saryeldin launched his second home run of the afternoon, a two-run shot to left field.
Another sacrifice fly, this time from freshman catcher
Marshall Basham, swelled the lead to 8-3 in the fourth.
Concord was quiet for an inning before two runs crossed in the sixth inning on RBI singles from fifth-year senior infielder
Michael Dupont and Gragg. The Mountain Lions continued the scoring in the seventh inning with Saryeldin and Satcher coming up with back-to-back run-scoring hits in a two-run rally.
Saryeldin and Satcher combined to go 6-for-8 with five RBI in game two. Satcher notched six hits and five RBI in the doubleheader. For the day, Saryeldin was 5-for-8 with three extra-base hits (two home runs, one double) and four RBI.
Freshman pitcher
Jake Robinson (1-2) earned his first collegiate win by tossing six innings, allowing two runs and four hits while striking out three. Robinson pitched five shutout innings before the Hilltoppers plated two runs in the seventh.
The Mountain Lions added 15 more hits in the second game, marking the first time this spring that they have recorded 15 or more hits in back-to-back games.
Concord is scheduled to face Emory & Henry 1:00 p.m. Tuesday in a non-conference game at Anderson Field.
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