Concord Splits Road Doubleheader Against MEC North Leader Fairmont State

FAIRMONT, W.Va. – The Concord University softball team went 1-1 in a pair of Mountain East Conference games at Fairmont State Sunday afternoon at Duvall-Rosier Field.
 
After the games, CU is 16-23 this spring and 11-11 in MEC play while Fairmont State moves to 28-13-1 and is 13-5 against the MEC.
 
Game One: Concord 9 – Fairmont State 3
A big second inning sprung the Mountain Lions into the lead and Concord never looked back.
 
Junior catcher/utility Gianna Sloan-Lebron reached to begin the second and advanced to second on a passed ball. Then, junior outfielder Alina Giles walked to bring up junior catcher/utility Morgan Gleason who drove in the first run of the game on a single through the left side. Back-to-back walks scored another run and loaded the bases with no outs.
 
Then, senior first baseman/outfielder Kassidy Garvey cleared the base paths with a grand slam, her third long ball of the season to give CU a 6-0 edge.
 
After FSU plated one run in the bottom of the second, Giles crushed a solo home run that brought the lead back to six, 7-1.
 
The Mountain Lions added two more insurance runs in the fifth and sixth innings on an RBI groundout from freshman pitcher/outfielder Reghan Hintz and an RBI base hit by junior infielder Lacie Lewis.
 
Junior pitcher/infielder Madison Hollis (6-4) allowed a pair of runs to score in the sixth, but went the distance to earn the win. Hollis only surrendered two earned runs across 7.0 innings while only issuing one walk and striking out four.
 
Giles was a perfect 3-for-3 at the dish with an RBI and two runs scored. Garvey led all hitters with four RBI on her first career grand slam. It was also CU's first grand slam in over two years. Senior infielder Courtney Raines also reached base four times in the game with a base hit and three walks.
 
Game Two: Fairmont State 4 – Concord 3
After four scoreless frames from both teams, CU broke the silence in the fifth inning.
 
Hintz picked up a one-out single into left field to become Concord's first base runner of the game. Then, junior catcher/utility Kayla Sholter singled and moved Hintz to third.
 
The following at-bat, Giles doubled down the left field line to drive in both runners and give the Maroon and Gray a 2-0 advantage.
 
The Fighting Falcons responded with a three-run bottom half of the fifth, but CU went back on the offensive in the sixth.
 
Raines picked up a one-out single up the middle and was pinch ran for by sophomore outfielder Savannah Brehm representing the tying run. After stealing second, Brehm came around to tie the game after a Fairmont State fielding error with two away.
 
Hintz relieved freshman pitcher Mahailey Nicholson in the bottom of the sixth and got out of the frame after the go-ahead run was in scoring position. However, FSU walked it off in the seventh as Hintz fell to 2-5 on the season.
 
Sholter had two hits to lead Concord in game two. Giles drove in her second and third runs of the doubleheader with the double. Nicholson pitched 5.0 innings allowing three earned runs and struck out eight.
 
The Mountain Lions face Frostburg State in a road doubleheader Monday starting at 12:00 p.m.