ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team opened up a four-game series with Davis & Elkins by scoring 44 runs in a doubleheader sweep Sunday afternoon at Anderson Field.
Concord improves to 15-12 overall and evens its Mountain East Conference record to 6-6. Davis & Elkins is 0-30 overall and 0-12 versus MEC foes.
Game 1: Concord 33 – Davis & Elkins 8
The Mountain Lions recorded a single-game seven-inning program record 31 hits and came up three runs shy of the program mark for runs as they scored in six of seven at-bats.
The 31 hits eclipsed the 25 hits that CU had in a seven-inning game at Ohio Valley in 2019.
Concord was playing as the visiting team after the series had to be moved to Athens due to field conditions and weather at D&E.
Already holding onto an 8-2 lead through four innings, CU plated 14 runs in the fifth inning.
Included in the inning was a three-run triple by sophomore utility
Dawson Gragg. Junior infielder
Brendan Brady and sophomore utility
MJ Hunter followed with back-to-back home runs. It was Brady's first career homer. Senior infielder
Chris Satcher tacked on his own home run, a three-run blast to cap the scoring.
The Mountain Lions weren't done as they scored seven more times in the sixth inning. Junior infielder
Jayden Nixon doubled in two runs as part of the rally. To start the seventh-inning scoring, Nixon belted a solo home run to right center field while junior outfielder
Austin Amtower brought in two runs with a double to the right center gap.
In all, ten CU hitters had at least two hits in the game. Junior outfielder
Demetri Jamison and fifth-year senior infielder
Zack Saryeldin led the way with four hits each. Both had three doubles in the game as they tied the single-game program record for doubles.
Concord also set the program record for doubles in a game with 11—the previous mark was 10 two years ago versus West Virginia Wesleyan.
Gragg went 3-for-5 with a career-best five RBI.
Graduate pitcher
Andrew Neff (4-3) set the program record for wins with his 28
th career victory Sunday afternoon. Neff tossed five shutout innings as he allowed two hits—both in the fourth inning—while matching his season high with seven strikeouts.
Concord's 31 hits also matched the nine-inning program record set in 2013.
Game 2: Concord 11 – Davis & Elkins 2
CU scored nine of its 11 runs in the third and fourth innings as they rolled to a game two victory.
After just one hit in the first two innings, Concord busted out with six runs in the third inning. Back-to-back run-scoring hits from Brady and Hunter bolted the Mountain Lions out to a 2-0 edge.
Senior infielder
Daniel Layne followed with a double to move Hunter to third, and an infield single by Jamison loaded the bases for Saryeldin. The Weston, Florida native blasted CU's second grand slam of the season out to left field to push the lead to 6-0.
A leadoff error in the fourth inning ignited a rally. Brady came up with a double to bring in Gragg. And then Hunter followed with a single to left field to grow the lead to 8-0 as Brady touched home. The fourth-inning rally was capped as Hunter scored on a second error in the frame.
With the comfortable lead, graduate pitcher
Eddie Blake (3-3) settled in as he only allowed two hits through four innings. Blake went over 200 career strikeouts in the third. D&E was able to plate a run in each the fifth and sixth innings off Blake. He tossed six innings, allowed two runs on seven hits while equaling his season best with seven strikeouts.
Brady spearheaded the offense by going 3-of-4 (two doubles) with three runs scored and an RBI. Hunter, Layne and Jamison were a combined 6-for-12 with four runs scored and four RBI at the top of the order. Saryeldin collected four RBI on his grand slam.
The 44 runs for Concord are tied for the most in a doubleheader in program history. CU also had 44 runs in a doubleheader sweep of WVU Tech in 2001.
Concord and Davis & Elkins play another doubleheader 1:00 p.m. Monday at Anderson Field.
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