Concord Splits Doubleheader with Bluefield State

ATHENS, W.Va. - The Concord University baseball team split a doubleheader against rival Bluefield State in non-conference games at Anderson Field Wednesday afternoon.
 
Concord (2-5) fought off a Bluefield State rally to win a high-scoring game one, 12-11. BSU (1-2) responded with an 8-6 victory for their first win of the season.
 
Game 1: Concord 12 - Bluefield State 11
Both offenses were primed and ready to go from the first inning as Big Blue struck first, putting up two runs in the top of the first inning.
 
Concord responded with three runs of its own to snatch the lead. Senior outfielder Korbin Bostic smashed a double to deep left center field, bringing home two runs. The Logan, West Virginia native scored on an error to give CU the lead.
 
Bluefield State evened things up with another run in the top of the second. However, Concord's offense kept hitting with senior outfielder Dawson Gragg scoring on a wild pitch and Bostic driving in two more with another towering double to left center field.
 
Both pitching staffs calmed down, keeping things scoreless until the bottom of the fifth. The Mountain Lions extended their lead to 8-3 with a two-run single from Gragg. Senior infielder Matthew DiSanti brought him around with an RBI single and Bostic singled home two more runners, giving Concord a commanding 11-3 lead.
 
Sophomore starter Kaden Varela-Payne settled in nicely, working a 1-2-3 top of the sixth in what was his final inning of work. In the bottom half, Senior designated hitter Kaden Swaim put one more on the board for CU with a sacrifice fly, making it 12-3.
 
Bluefield State came back with eight runs in the top of the seventh and got the tying run aboard with two outs.
 
However, Junior pitcher Ryder Wagenknecht entered the ballgame and slammed the door shut with a strikeout to end it, earning his first save of the season.
 
M. DiSanti finished with four hits, three runs and an RBI. Bostic had an outstanding game, going 3-for-3 with a career-high six RBI. Gragg went a perfect 4-of-4 with a pair of RBI in the win.
 
Varela-Payne (1-1) earned his first victory of the season, going six innings, two earned runs and racking up five strikeouts.
 
Game 2: Bluefield State 8 - Concord 6
The second game started well for Concord as the senior right handed pitcher Kerry Collins worked an easy first inning, retiring all three BSU bats in order.
 
It was the Mountain Lions striking first, with an M. DiSanti single to right field that drove in two runs in the bottom of the second inning
 
But, The Big Blues immediately responded, taking their first lead of the game, scoring three in the third inning.
 
The lead eventually grew to 8-2 for BSU.
 
The Mountain Lions didn't go down without a fight, as junior infielder Alex Rodriguez led off the seventh inning with a double. After a pair of walks drawn by Swaim and junior infielder Nick DiSanti, Bostic stepped to the dish.
 
The lefty mashed a grand slam off the top of the fence in right center field to cut the deficit to just two runs, 8-6.
 
But, the rally ended there as the next two batters were retired in order.
 
Bostic capped off his already impressive day with a grand slam to lead CU. He finished the doubleheader by going 4-for-7 with a home run, two doubles and 10 RBI. M. DiSanti drove in the other two runs, going 1-for-3 in the game.
 
Collins (0-1) was dealt the loss, going four innings, allowing four earned runs and striking out four batters.
 
The Mountain Lions host Shepherd for a three-game series this weekend. The first game will be Friday at 1:00 p.m. Saturday will feature a doubleheader starting at 12:00 p.m.