BUCKHANNON, W.Va. – The West Virginia Wesleyan baseball team split the final games of their four-game series with Concord Saturday afternoon, taking the first game 9-4 and dropping game two 10-6. The Bobcats had 10 or more hits in both games.
Game 1
Sam Ingram led off with a single, Devin Johnson was hit by a pitch and Matthew Neach walked, loading the bases early. Thatcher Poteat brought two runs home on a single to right and Cole Shearer ripped a single to left to make it 3-0 after the first. After a walk and error by the Bobcat infield, Concord was able to tie the game up with a two-run double and a one-run single.
Rohrbaugh sat the Mountain Lion lineup down in order in the top of the third and was given his three-run lead back in the bottom of the third. The Bobcats opened the inning with a double from Poteat and he moved to third on a flyout. A bad throw to home allowed Poteat to score and Ingram ripped one down the right field line to plate two, making it 6-3 after three innings. Johnson started the bottom of the fourth being hit for the third time and got in scoring position from a balk. A one-run double from Shearer brought Johnson home and Eddie Rueda followed that up with a one-run single up the gut, extending the lead to 8-3.
Broderick Rohrbaugh settled in after setting the Concord lineup down in order in the fifth. In the bottom of the fifth, Ingram tripled to the right-center gap and came home on an infield single by Jack Tilton. Down to their final at-bats, Concord scored one more run but that’s all they could muster in the top of the seventh as WVWC took the 9-4 win.
MJ Hunter led the Mountain Lions with two runs knocked in and teammates Dawson Gragg and Mike Dupont added one RBI each. Gragg and Hunter Steel also grabbed two hits apiece. Eddie Blake took the loss after 5 2/3 innings of work, surrendering six runs (five earned) on eight hits while striking out three.
Ingram was 3-4 at the plate and added two RBIs. Poteat, Shearer and Rueda also added two RBIs each. Rohrbaugh got the win, pitching a complete seven innings and giving up four runs (two earned) on seven hits and seven strikeouts.
Game 2
Concord came out swinging, leading off the game with a double and one-run single. The Mountain Lions would make the lead 3-0 after a two-run single, eventually ending the inning on a pop up. Concord had another three-run inning in the top of the second, plating a run on a single and scoring two more runs on a double to the left-center gap.
Hits were turned into runs in the bottom of the third as Jake Ascari and Luke Burner opened the inning up with singles and Ingram scored the first run of the game for the Bobcats with a sacrifice fly to deep center. Tilton doubled down the line to score Burner and Neach brought the third run of the inning in with a sacrifice fly as well, trimming the Concord lead in half at 6-3. WVWC cut into the lead once again in the bottom of the fifth as Neach hit a near home run to right-center, scoring two more runs as the Bobcats trailed 6-5 after five innings.
With two outs, the Mountain Lions scored four runs in the top of the sixth to create a cushion. It started with a one-run single to left and a two-run triple, ending with another one-run single to give Concord a 10-5 lead. Ingram tallied his second run-batted-in of the game in the bottom half of the sixth with a single up the middle. The Bobcats fought until the end, putting runners at first and second with one out in the bottom of the seventh. Consecutive outs closed the book on game two with Concord winning 10-6.
Chris Satcher (four RBIs) and Kyle Keenan (three RBIs) had big days at the plate for the Mountain Lions. Brendan Brady added two RBIs as well. Concord brought four different pitchers out with Kyle Keenan picking up the victory.
Neach was 2-3 at the plate with three runs knocked in to lead the Bobcats. Ingram finished with two RBIs and Tilton was 3-4 knocking in one run. Johnson also finished the day with three hits. Hunter Eplin took the loss after going 5 2/3 innings, giving up nine runs (seven earned) on 12 hits and two walks.
Up Next For The Bobcats
Wesleyan will be home once again on Wednesday as they host PSAC opponent Shepherd at 1 and 3:30 p.m.
