ELKINS, W.Va. — The Bobcats closed its regular season on a strong note Sunday, sweeping Davis & Elkins College in a road doubleheader with a 9-1 win in the opener and a 6-5 victory in game two. The Bobcats used a 13-hit attack and steady pitching in game one, then held off a late Senators push in the nightcap to finish the day with back-to-back wins.
Game One: West Virginia Wesleyan 9, Davis & Elkins 1
Wesleyan struck first in the top of the second.
Isaac Lough opened the inning with a walk, then came around to score when
Malik Wood doubled to right field.
Dylan Neach moved Wood to third with a flyout, and
Grant Shumaker followed with a sacrifice fly to center, giving the Bobcats a 2-0 lead.
Davis & Elkins answered in the bottom half when Mason Brenneman doubled to left and scored on Jett Walters' RBI single to right, cutting the Wesleyan lead to 2-1. The Senators threatened again in the inning, but Evans limited the damage and the Bobcats escaped with the lead intact.
The game turned decisively in the fifth.
Drew Jrolf and
Carter Collins opened the inning with singles before
Josiah Segura delivered a two-run double to left, stretching the lead to 4-1. After Wood walked,
Dylan Neach supplied the biggest swing of the game, launching a three-run home run to right field to push Wesleyan ahead 7-1.
Coleman Cross,
Matthew Neach and Jrolf then added consecutive hits, with Jrolf's RBI double scoring Cross and making it 8-1.
Wesleyan added one more run in the sixth when Collins doubled, moved to third on Segura's single and scored on Lough's RBI fielder's choice.
Collins led the Bobcats at the plate, going 3-for-3 with two runs scored, a double and two walks. Jrolf finished 2-for-4 with a double, an RBI and a run scored, while Cross went 2-for-5. Segura added two hits and two RBIs, Wood doubled, drove in a run and scored twice, and
Dylan Neach drove in three with his fifth-inning homer.
On the mound, Evans earned the win after allowing one run on four hits over 4.1 innings. Napoleon finished the final 2.2 innings, scattering three hits without allowing a run. Together, the Bobcat staff held Davis & Elkins to one run despite seven Senator hits.
Davis & Elkins was led offensively by Brenneman, who went 2-for-3 with a double and a run scored. Walters drove in the Senators' lone run, while Kenny Capria and Aiden Morey also reached base with hits.
Game Two: West Virginia Wesleyan 6, Davis & Elkins 5
Wesleyan took a 1-0 lead in the second inning after Lough doubled to right field and advanced to third on
Ronny Dinzey's flyout. Lough then scored on a passed ball, giving the Bobcats the early advantage.
Davis & Elkins moved in front in the third. Carsan Strolla doubled and scored on Brenneman's RBI single. After Jett Walters walked and Aiden Morey singled, Nick Colarossi delivered a two-run single to right field, putting the Senators ahead 3-1.
The Bobcats loaded the bases in the fourth but were unable to score. One inning later, they broke through.
Dylan Neach opened the fifth with a walk, and Shumaker followed with a single.
Coleman Cross reached on an error that allowed Neach to score, and Cross then stole second.
Matthew Neach followed with a sacrifice fly that brought home both Shumaker and Cross, giving Wesleyan a 4-3 lead. Later in the inning, Segura walked, Lough was hit by a pitch and Dinzey singled to left, scoring Segura for a 5-3 Bobcat advantage.
Wesleyan added a critical run in the sixth. Shumaker singled,
Matthew Neach followed with a base hit, and Segura lifted a sacrifice fly to center to score Shumaker, extending the lead to 6-3.
That run proved important. Davis & Elkins rallied in the bottom of the sixth, using singles by Capria, Joel Wise and Walters, along with a Wesleyan error, to score twice and trim the margin to 6-5. With the bases loaded,
Austin Mann limited further damage and kept the Bobcats ahead.
Mann then closed the game in the seventh. After retiring the first two batters, he allowed a two-out single to Strolla, but induced a flyout from Wise to end the game and secure the sweep.
Shumaker paced Wesleyan offensively in game two, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and a walk.
Matthew Neach drove in two runs, Lough doubled and scored, Segura added two RBIs on productive outs, and Dinzey drove in the eventual decisive run with his fifth-inning single.
Anthony Hernandez started for the Bobcats and worked four innings, allowing three runs while striking out two.
Kole Miller recorded one out in relief and earned the win, while Mann threw the final 2.2 innings to pick up the save. Mann allowed two runs, only one earned, and struck out two while navigating the late Davis & Elkins push.
The Senators outhit Wesleyan 12-6 in the nightcap, led by Strolla's 3-for-5 effort and two-hit games from Wise and Walters. Colarossi drove in three runs for Davis & Elkins, while Brenneman and Walters each added an RBI.
With the sweep, Wesleyan finished the day and the season at 13-37, while Davis & Elkins fell to 5-45.
