ATHENS, W.Va. – The Concord University Baseball Team (3-5) tallied six eighth-inning runs to defeat Emory & Henry University (1-13) in non-conference play Tuesday afternoon. The Wasps mounted a rally in the top of the ninth, but came up just short by an 11-8 final score.
The Basics
FINAL SCORE – Concord 11, Emory & Henry 8
LOCATION – Athens, West Virginia
VENUE – Anderson Stadium
RECORDS – Emory & Henry (1-13, 0-6 SAC); Concord (3-5, 0-0 MEC)
How It Happened
The Mountain Lions took an early lead in the home half of the first inning, scoring a run on a pair of hits to make it 1-0. The Wasps struck back in the top of the second. Fifth-year catcher Caeden Howell (Roaring River, N.C.) led off the inning with a double, then came around to touch home on an RBI double from junior designated hitter Ky Gregoire (Waterloo, Ontario, CANADA) to tie things up at 1-1. E&H added another run in the top of the third when senior third baseman Steven Smith (Salisbury, N.C.) was hit by a pitch and scored on an RBI double off the bat of senior first baseman Jacob Bebber (Taylorsville, N.C.) to put the Wasps on top 2-1.
Concord responded with three runs in the bottom of the fourth and one more in the fifth to leapfrog back into the lead at 5-2. Emory & Henry battled back with a run in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Smith launched a solo shot over the wall in center just out of the reach of a leaping centerfielder to lead off the sixth to slice the deficit back to just two. In the seventh, junior outfielder Clay Caldwell (Salem, Va.) drew a walk, stole second base and took third on a throwing error by the CU catcher. Fifth-year outfielder Matt Hill (Pineville, N.C.) delivered an RBI groundout to plate Caldwell and bring the Wasps back within one. Smith drew a walk and Bebber singled and advanced to third to lead off the eighth inning. Smith scampered home on a wild pitch to level the score at 5-5 heading to the bottom of the eighth.
CU's bats erupted for six runs on five hits and an E&H error in the home half of the eighth to give them a comfortable 11-5 advantage as the teams entered the ninth. The visitors from Emory would not go down without a fight, as they mounted a rally in the final inning of regulation. Caldwell laced a leadoff triple and Hill was hit by a pitch. Senior outfielder Khadeem Lewis (Chesterfield, Va.) drove in a run on a fielder's choice and fifth-year second baseman Jared Foley (Sparta, N.C.) doubled into the right-center gap. Freshman shortstop Jaret Hoppes (Taylorsville, N.C.) drew a walk to load the bases for Smith, who scored another on an RBI single to right. Howell drew a bases-loaded walk to push across another run to make it 11-8 and put the tying run on first base, but Concord recorded the final out to escape with the non-conference victory.
Braylen Baker was the winning pitcher for the Mountain Lions as he retired the lone batter he faced to get the final out of the eighth inning. Senior lefty Justin Day (Strasburg, Va.) suffered the loss for E&H after allowing six runs, five earned, on five hits while striking out one batter over .2 innings of work. Smith led the offense for Emory & Henry with two hits, two RBIs and three runs scored. Bebber and Foley each had a pair of hits while Bebber, Howell, Gregoire, Hill and Lewis all drove in a run.
Up Next
Emory & Henry kicks off its 2025 home schedule on Friday when they welcome Southwest Virginia rivals the University of Virginia's College at Wise for game one of a three-game SAC series. First pitch is scheduled for 2:00 p.m. from Porterfield-DeVault Field.
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