CU baseball beats No. 16 Charleston 7-2 in MEC

Bluefield Daily Telegraph, W.Va.
·2 min read

May 15—BECKLEY — For the third time this season, the Concord University baseball team defeated nationally-ranked Charleston, this time, 7-2, at the Mountain East Conference Tournament at Epling Stadium Friday night.

The Mountain Lions (17-21) are the lone undefeated team left in the double-elimination tournament, and will await the winner of Saturday's elimination game between 16th-ranked Charleston (31-7) and Alderson Broaddus — played at 12 noon Saturday. Concord next plays 7 p.m. Saturday.

Concord used a five-run fifth inning, and the best career outing for freshman pitcher Andrew Neff to defeat the Golden Eagles. A bases-loaded fielder's choice coupled with an error got the scoring started for the Maroon and Gray in the fifth.

The bases loaded themselves with three bunts in the frame. After sophomore outfielder Josh Adkins and freshman infielder Michael Dupont scored on the fielder's choice, junior infielder Anthony Stehlin plated one of his two runs in the game to grow the lead to 4-0.

Two batters later, sophomore outfielder Richard Ortiz singled home a run before freshman catcher Nick Funk's sacrifice fly capped the rally.

Staked out to a one-run lead early in the game, Neff retired 12 of the first 14 batters he faced over the first four innings. Before the outburst in the bottom of the fifth, the Fredericksburg, Virginia native escaped a two on, one out jam to keep CU's lead at 1-0.

Down 6-0, Charleston appeared primed to answer in a big way in the sixth by loading the bases with three straight hits to start the frame. However, Neff got two fly balls and a soft grounder back to the mound to limit the rally to one run.

UC threatened again in the eighth with a pair of two-out walks, but could not get any closer until a two-out run-scoring hit in the ninth.

Neff scattered seven hits and one earned run over 7.2 innings. He tied his career high with nine strikeouts as he threw 146 pitches (90 strikes). Concord chased UC's Colt Webb after four-plus innings as he threw 77 pitches and gave up five earned runs.

Junior outfielder Brandon Bayne, junior infielder Evan Antonellis, Ortiz and Stehlin all had two hits. Stehlin drove in two runs.