Concord Powers to Doubleheader Sweep of Wheeling, 9-2, 9-5

ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team scored nine runs in both games to sweep a Mountain East Conference doubleheader over Wheeling, 9-2, 9-5, Saturday afternoon at Anderson Field.
 
After the sweep, CU improves to 14-11 overall and 6-2 in MEC play while Wheeling falls to 8-14 and 2-8 in the MEC.
 
Game One: Concord 9 – Wheeling 2
A strong outing on the mound from junior pitcher Logan Darrow and a four-run first inning lifted CU over the Cardinals in game one.
 
Singles from junior infielder Matthew DiSanti and junior outfielder Korbin Bostic was sandwiched around a walk to junior catcher Kaden Swaim to load the bases in the bottom of the first.
 
With two outs in the frame, senior utility MJ Hunter emptied the bases with a three-RBI triple in the right-center gap to jump ahead, 3-0. A wild pitch two pitches later scored Hunter and give Darrow a four-run cushion after one.
 
Graduate infielder Ty Livingston picked up a single to start the second inning and stole second to move into scoring position. Later in the inning with Livingston on third base, DiSanti brought him home on a sacrifice fly to extend the margin to 5-0.
 
Wheeling plated a run in the top of the third, but the Maroon and Gray were quick to respond.
 
Swaim led off the home half of the third with a single and came all the way around to score on a double from Bostic to restore a five-run lead. After Bostic took third on a wild pitch, Hunter poked a ball up the middle to grow the lead to 7-1.
 
Darrow kept the Cardinals off the board until the top of the sixth, but like the third inning, CU countered one WU run with two of its own.
 
After the first three batters reached base in the bottom of the sixth, Concord got a run in on a ground ball. DiSanti followed with the final run of the contest for the Mountain Lions as Concord locked down a 9-2 win.
 
Darrow faced the three-batter minimum in three innings as he went the distance to improve to 3-2 on the season after tossing just 66 pitches with three strikeouts. M. DiSanti, Swaim, Bostic, Hunter, and Livingston each had two hits in the game with Hunter driving in a game-high four runs.
 
Game Two: Concord 9 – Wheeling 5
Despite falling in an early 3-0 hole, Concord scored the nine of the final 11 runs in the game.
 
Sophomore infielder Nick DiSanti got the rally started in the third inning with a leadoff single and M. DiSanti knocked a ball over the right field wall for a ground rule double. Still with no outs, Swaim unloaded on a ball to right field that left the stadium for a three-run home run to tie the game at 3-3. The inning wasn't finished, as Bostic clubbed a ball over the right-center wall for back-to-back homers and gave Concord a 4-3 heading to the fourth.
 
The Maroon and Gray struck again in the bottom of the fourth as Livingston was hit by a pitch and stole second base to open the inning. Then, senior outfielder D.J. Christian Jr. singled through the right side to grow the advantage to two, 5-3. M. DiSanti picked up a two-out walk and swiped second base later in the inning and Swaim collected his fourth RBI of the contest with a ground rule double for a 6-3 lead.
 
WU made the score 6-4 in the top of the fifth after a leadoff home run, but an RBI triple from senior outfielder Demetri Jamison in the bottom half of the inning restored a three-run margin.
 
Swaim capped off his strong doubleheader performance with a two-run blast in the bottom of the sixth, his second of the game and eighth of the season as Concord completed the sweep with a 9-5 win over the Cardinals.
 
Swaim was a perfect 4-for-4 at the dish with two home runs, one double, and six runs batted in. M. DiSanti was not retired in the game, going 3-for-3 with a pair of runs scored to grow his team-leading batting average to .447 on the season. Graduate pitcher Zach Powell (4-3) rebounded from the early three-run deficit by pitching all seven innings, allowing five earned runs and punching out two to pick up the win.
 
CU keeps its homestand going with another MEC doubleheader against West Liberty Sunday starting at 1:00 p.m.