BUCKHANNON — The University of Charleston used timely hitting and a pair of standout pitching efforts to claim both games over the Bobcats, Saturday, taking the opener 18-6 before completing the sweep with an 8-0 win in the nightcap.
Charleston struck first in the opener with two runs in the top of the first, but the Bobcats answered immediately. Matthew Neach doubled home Isaac Lough in the bottom half to get Wesleyan on the board and cut the deficit to 2-1. After Charleston added two more in the second, Dylan Neach answered with a solo home run in the bottom of the inning, trimming the margin back to 4-2.
The Golden Eagles opened some separation in the third, scoring five times on five hits to move in front 9-2, but Wesleyan showed some pushback in the bottom half. Coleman Cross walked and Isaac Lough singled to set the table, then Matthew Neach brought home a run on a groundout. Josiah Segura followed with an RBI double, and Dylan Neach added an RBI groundout as the Bobcats closed within 9-5. Wesleyan added another run in the fourth when Grant Shumaker walked, Cross singled, Lough walked and Alex Smith drew an RBI free pass to make it 9-6.
Charleston answered with a five-run fifth, highlighted by RBI hits from Andrew Kobryn, Collin Kemp, Trent Dosenbach and Ashton Cochran, then tacked on four more in the sixth to put the game out of reach. Samuel Lemond led the Golden Eagles’ 18-hit attack by going a perfect 6-for-6 with five runs scored and four RBI, while Kemp drove in five and Kobryn added three hits and two RBIs.
Wesleyan finished with eight hits in the opener and drew nine walks. Dylan Neach paced the Bobcats by going 2-for-4 with a homer, two RBIs and a stolen base. Matthew Neach drove in two with his first-inning double, Segura doubled and knocked in one, while Lough, Cross, Carter Collins and Malik Wood each added a hit. Alex Smith scored once and drove in a run while reaching base four times via three walks.
In the second game, the two teams were scoreless through two innings before Charleston broke through in the third. Derek Seiss singled and later came around to score, Samuel Lemond delivered an RBI single, and Collin Kemp reached on an error that brought home two more unearned runs. Trent Dosenbach capped the inning with an RBI single as the Golden Eagles built a 4-0 lead. Charleston added three more in the fourth, including Lemond’s two-run homer, then got another solo blast from Lemond in the seventh.
Anthony Hernandez went the distance for the Bobcats in game two, allowing six hits and eight runs, five of them earned, while striking out five over seven innings. Charleston capitalized on two Wesleyan errors and also benefited from a pair of wild pitches in the fourth inning. Lemond again led the Golden Eagles offensively, finishing 3-for-4 with two home runs, four RBIs and three runs scored. Kemp drove in two, and Dosenbach added an RBI.
