West Virginia State beats Concord twice for MEC baseball championship

May 17—West Virginia State knows how to make things tough on itself.

The Yellow Jackets lost the first game of the Mountain East Conference Baseball Tournament on Thursday to tumble into the losers bracket. Anyone who counted them out forgot — they've done this before.

State broke a 3-3 tie with a four-run seventh inning to beat Concord 9-3 and force the if-necessary game. Another big inning — five in the sixth — propelled State to another 9-3 win and the tournament championship.

It was State's first MEC championship since 2015 and second under head coach Sean Lloyd. The Yellow Jackets earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Division II National Tournament.

State also had to fight through the losers bracket in 2015 after losing on the first day.

Matt Harrison and Andrew Stone homered on consecutive pitches in the seventh inning of the first game for State. Harrison's was a two-run shot that put the Yellow Jackets ahead for good.

Jacob Bradley got the win in relief. State starter Tyler Lafferty faced just three batters and fell behind 2-0, prompting Lloyd to bring in Bradley.

Bradley kept Concord in check long enough for the State offense to take control. He worked six innings and allowed four hits and an unearned run while striking out six and walking two.

In the second game, Stone's solo homer and Michael Stone's two-run triple highlighted State's five-run outburst to deflate the Mountain Lions.

It was the end of a storied postseason run for Concord, which didn't qualify for the tournament until the last game of the regular season last Sunday. The Mountain Lions lost their first 11 games this season, seven of them conference games, to start off in a deep hole.

After securing their MEC tournament bid, the Mountain Lions defeated Wheeling 15-1 on the first day, then defeated defending champion Charleston 7-2 before clinching a championship spot with an 8-6 win over Alderson Broaddus on Friday.