Concord Extends Win Streak, Defeats West Virginia Wesleyan 8-5, 7-2

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team collected two victories over West Virginia Wesleyan in a Mountain East Conference doubleheader at Anderson Field Saturday afternoon.
 
The Mountain Lions improve to 19-12 overall and 10-6 in MEC play, while WVWC falls to 10-20 overall and 5-11 in conference games.
 
Game One: Concord 8 – West Virginia Wesleyan 5
After scoring three runs in the first inning, Concord cruised to a game one victory.
 
Junior utility MJ Hunter walked to start the first inning scoring charge. Graduate infielder Daniel Layne followed with a double down the right field line and moving Hunter to third. Senior infielder Zack Saryeldin drove in both runners with his own double, giving CU a 2-0 lead. Concord wasn't done, as senior first baseman Chris Satcher hit Saryeldin home to lead 3-0.
 
After back-to-back base hits to start the third inning, Saryeldin emptied the bases with his eighth home run this spring, giving CU a 6-0 advantage over the Bobcats.
 
WVWC plated two runs in the fourth. However, junior outfielder Demetri Jamison answered with a two-run single to drive in junior infielder Brendan Brady and Hunter, taking the lead to 8-2.
 
The Bobcats scored three runs in the top of the seventh, but graduate pitcher Andrew Neff (5-3) closed out his first complete game this season.
 
Neff allowed seven hits and four earned runs while striking out five.
 
Saryeldin tallied five runs batted in in game one, going 2-for-3 at the dish and also scoring two runs. Satcher and Jamison also notched multiple hits in the contest.
 
Game Two: Concord 7 – West Virginia Wesleyan 2
A third inning rally lifted CU over West Virginia Wesleyan in game two.
 
After the Bobcats took a 2-1 lead heading into the bottom of the third, Layne walked to begin the frame. Then, Jamison singled to center field, pushing himself and Layne into scoring position after an errant relay. Back-to-back sacrifice flies from Saryeldin and Satcher gave CU the lead, 3-2. With two outs, senior infielder Michael Dupont crushed a solo home run to extend CU's edge over WVWC to 4-2.
 
Graduate pitcher Eddie Blake allowed runners in scoring position in the fourth and fifth innings, but did not allow a run past the third inning.
 
Three consecutive Mountain Lions reached base to start the bottom of the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs, freshman catcher Marshall Basham hit an RBI single to left field, growing the lead to 5-2. Sophomore utility Dawson Gragg followed with a sacrifice fly. CU wasn't done, as Dupont came across to score on a Bobcats' throwing error.
 
One-out hits in the sixth and seventh innings from West Virginia Wesleyan were not enough, as CU shut down the Bobcats, 7-2.
 
Blake (4-3) tossed his second complete game this spring, giving up nine hits and two runs while tying his season-high of seven strikeouts.
 
Dupont was a perfect 4-for-4 at the plate with an RBI and three runs scored. Basham went 3-for-4 with a run batted in. Jamison also collected two hits in game two, going 4-for-7 at the plate on the day.
 
CU wraps up its series against West Virginia Wesleyan with a doubleheader Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.