BUCKHANNON, W.VA. – For the second straight set of twinbills, the West Virginia State bats came alive, as the Yellow Jackets swept Mountain East Conference divisional foes WV Wesleyan Saturday at Hank Ellis Field, downing the Bobcats by scores of 10-3 and 8-5.
State cranked out 29 hits on the day, tallying 15 in the first contest and another 14 in the nightcap.They move to 19-16 on the season and an even .500 in conference play at 11-11, while Wesleyan drops to 2-31 on the season.
Sophomore Ryan Kay was stellar, posting six hits with four RBI and a pair of runs.
GAME 1: WVSU 10, WESLEYAN 3
The Yellow Jackets cranked out 15 hits in the contest, led by three-hit days each from graduate seniors Andrew Stone and Andrew Sharp, and Kay. Stone also scored three times and drove in two.
Junior Nick Loftis picked up the win, moving to 5-4 on the year after a complete game performance.
Stone led off the game with a single to right field, stole second, advanced on a flyout, and then scored on a single to left field from freshman Dante Zamudio. A sacrifice fly allowed junior Trey Junkins, who also singled earlier in the inning, to put the Yellow Jackets up 2-0 at the end of the opening frame.
A sacrifice bunt from senior Brett Christian scored Kay, and a double to deep center from Stone brought home another pair of Yellow Jacket runs and pushed State to a 5-0 advantage. Stone then came home on an error, widening the gap to 6-0.
The score remained until the top of the fourth, when Stone scored again, this time on a triple from freshman Nathan Paulsen and put the Yellow Jackets ahead 7—0.
The Bobcats broke through in the bottom of that frame with a trio of runs, but State remained ahead after scoring three more times in the top of the sixth- Zamudio doubled, then senior Michael Stone also doubled to bring him home and Paulsen, who had reached earlier via walk. M. Stone then came home after a connection to right field from Kay to plate the final run of the game.
GAME 2:
Both teams broke the blank in the second inning, as State picked up right where they left off- Michael Stone singled, moved up on a Bobcat miscue, and then scored on a single dropped perfectly into right field from Kay.
The Bobcats evened the contest in the bottom of the frame, but the stalemate was short lived after Paulsen led off the inning and plated the go-ahead on a single from graduate student Matthew Kline.
State added cushion by scoring four runs in the fourth, sparked by an Andrew Stone triple, and he and Junkins (who walked) both came home on a Paulsen single to left field. Paulsen himself then scored, after a Mike Stone single to left field. Kline, who was walked earlier, came home on a single dropped into center from Kay, putting the Yellow Jackets up 6-1.
The Bobcats trimmed the lead to just one run in the bottom of the inning, but WVSU was able to add some cushion with a pair of runs in the sixth after a Kline triple and singles from Kay and Sharp to seal the victory.
UP NEXT
State wraps up the weekend in Buckhannon Saturday with another doubleheader, with first pitch slated for 3 p.m. Live stats and video will be available for both contests.
