LOB = SOL

The first round of play at the NCAA Division II Atlantic Regional baseball tournament is over, and it was marked mostly by frustration for WVIAC.
Both Concord and Shepherd had little trouble runners on, but much trouble in bringing them in to score.

The Mountain Lions left 11 runners on base, five in scoring position, in their 5-3 loss to West Chester. Concord went just 2-14 with runners in scoring position in suffering a third consecutive loss.

The Rams were actually outdone in the LOB category by Mercyhurst, 11-10, in the Lakers' 3-1 win. The outcome hinged on taking advantage of opportunities. Mercyhurst scored all the runs they would need with two outs in the 1st inning; Shepherd starter Matt McCarty set the table by hitting a batter and walking another, the Lakers then got consecutive RBI singles from Ethan Santora and Trey Bennett.
Meanwhile, Shepherd wound up out-hitting the Lakers 9-4, but left the bases loaded twice.

West Virginia State got the WVIAC into the win column with their victory over Kutztown. The Yellow Jackets got a strong effort from starting pitcher Shane Long (8 IP, 6 H, 1 ER) and clutch 9th-inning RBI single from Joey Jobst and an RBI fielder's choice from Nate Koepsel. The rally broke open a close game and propelled the Jackets to a 4-1 win.


Rain has wreaked havoc on the tournament in West Lawn, PA. The start of play Thursday was delayed by two hours, Shepherd and Mercyhurst had to wait out a 40-minute rain delay before finishing their matchup, and the WVSU-Kutztown game was rained out Thursday night and had to be played at 9:00 am Friday.
The delays could result in nine games having to be played between Friday morning and Sunday afternoon. That's a lot of baseball....