WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The Concord University baseball team was edged in a pair of Mountain East Conference games, 3-2 and 4-3, against West Liberty Sunday afternoon at Kovalick Field.
Game 1: West Liberty 3 – Concord 2
The Hilltoppers (9-12, 8-4 MEC) scored the go-ahead run in the bottom of the fifth as CU (8-18, 2-6 MEC) came up short in its final two at-bats.
The scoring in the back-and-forth game started in the top of the first when senior outfielder
Korbin Bostic brought in freshman outfielder
Jared Lavergne after his one-out base hit earlier in the inning.
West Liberty answered with a pair of runs in the bottom of the third, but CU had an immediate response to tie the game in the top of the fourth.
Bostic walked to lead off the inning, and then advanced to third on a WLU error. Senior infielder
Sam Stowe provided a one-out sacrifice fly to get Bostic in.
However, West Liberty took advantage of a Concord error in the bottom of the fifth inning to grab a 3-2 advantage. The Mountain Lions got the tying run to third base in the bottom of the sixth inning, and had the leadoff batter reach in the seventh, but could not tie or take the lead.
Bostic was 1-for-1 with two walks and an RBI in the game. Senior catcher
Austin Hear and junior utility
Hunter Sipel both finished 1-for-3.
Sophomore pitcher
Kaden Varela-Payne (3-4) tossed six innings as he allowed two earned runs on six hits. He struck out seven.
Game 2: West Liberty 4 – Concord 3
The second game was almost a mirror image of the first one as West Liberty took a late lead away from the Mountain Lions.
CU scored the first three runs of the game.
The first tally of the contest was a sacrifice fly from freshman catcher
Brentley Laughter that scored Bostic in the second. And in the third, Bostic was credited with the second run as his sacrifice fly allowed Lavergne to touch home. Later in the inning, Sipel came through with a two-out RBI single that brought in senior infielder
Matthew DiSanti.
The lead held up until the bottom of the fifth inning.
Holding a 3-1 edge, the Mountain Lions watched West Liberty tie the game on a two-out double before singling in the go-ahead run.
Concord put runners on the corners in the sixth and loaded the bases in the seventh, but could not scratch across a fourth run.
DiSanti and Sipel each had two hits in game two.
Freshman pitcher
Jonah Adams (0-6) was the pitcher of record as he allowed four runs on five hits. He struck out three.
CU faces Wheeling 1:00 p.m. Monday in a doubleheader at EQT Park in Washington, Pennsylvania.
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