Bluestone News

The Concord University softball team takes a break from being on the road when it welcomes Davis & Elkins to the CU Softball Field 1:00 p.m. Saturday before hosting West Virginia Wesleyan 1:00 p.m. Sunday in four Mountain East Conference games.

LIVE COVERAGE
The Concord University Sports Information Department will have live in-game statistics and live streaming video of the contests.

Live Stats
Live Video

SERIES HISTORY vs. Davis & Elkins: Concord leads 22-18
SERIES HISTORY vs. West Virginia Wesleyan: WVWC leads 48-10

LAST FIVE SERIES VERSUS DAVIS & ELKINS
April 30, 2022: Davis & Elkins 2 – Concord 0 (L, 8-5 L, 5-4) (Elkins, W.Va.)
March 25, 2022: Davis & Elkins 2 – Concord 0 (L, 9-1 L, 13-4) (Athens, W.Va.)
May 1, 2021: Concord 2 – Davis & Elkins 0 (W, 9-0 W, 5-3) (Athens, W.Va.)
March 27, 2021: Concord 2 – Davis & Elkins 0 (W, 12-3, W, 11-3) (Elkins, W.Va.)
April 10, 2013: Concord 2 – Davis & Elkins 0 (W, 2-1 W, 17-5) (Elkins, W.Va.)

LAST FIVE SERIES VERSUS WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN
April 29, 2022: West Virginia Wesleyan 2 – Concord 0 (L, 8-0 L, 5-1) (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
March 29, 2022: West Virginia Wesleyan 2 – Concord 0 (L, 11-1 L, 8-0) (Athens, W.Va.)
March 26, 2021: Concord 2 – West Virginia Wesleyan 0 (W, 7-4 W, 2-1 (9)) (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
April 28, 2019: Concord 2 – West Virginia Wesleyan 0 (W, 6-4  W, 5-2) (Buckhannon, W.Va.)
March 23, 2019: Concord 1 – West Virginia Wesleyan 1 (W, 2-1 L, 7-0) (Athens, W.Va.)

CONCORD AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 9-16
MEC Record: 0-4
Home Record: 7-5
Away Record: 2-8
Neutral Record: 0-3

HANDLING ROAD BUSINESS
CU won its first two road games of the season with a midweek non-conference sweep of Emory & Henry, 1-0 and 4-2, Tuesday afternoon. Sophomore pitchers Caitlyn Bauer and Nancy-Jo Roberts were dominant in their starts in the circle. Bauer tied her season  high with nine strikeouts versus the Wasps as she tossed her third career complete game shutout. For Roberts, she retired 15 of the final 16 batters she faced after giving up both runs and four hits in the first inning. Despite only pitching 38 innings this spring, Bauer is seventh in the MEC with 43 strikeouts. Offensively, freshman infielder Lacie Lewis was 4-for-5 at E&H, including going 3-for-3 with an RBI in the 4-2 victory.

BREAK OUT THE BATS
Over the last two seasons, there's been no shortage of offense when Concord and Davis & Elkins meet on the softball diamond. In seven of the last eight games, the winning team has scored at least eight runs. The Mountain Lions seek to snap a four-game losing streak to Davis & Elkins. As a hitter in the final two games of the 2022 season, Bauer was 4-for-6 versus the Senators. Sophomore first baseman Kassidy Garvey batted 5-for-12 against D&E last season with a home run and four RBI. Graduate infielder Sarah Thompson torched Davis & Elkins in 2021 as she collected nine hits in 15 at-bats while tallying three doubles, a home run and seven RBI. Senior outfielder Jolie Privett tied the single-game program record with five hits in 12-3 win at Davis & Elkins in 2021. She also collected four RBI.

PITCHING PROSPECTS
Sunday's doubleheader showcases four of the best pitchers in the MEC in CU's Bauer and Roberts opposing West Virginia Wesleyan's Hannah Hudson and Kendall Stoffel. Hudson (178) and Bauer (136) both finished in the top six in the MEC in strikeouts last season. Roberts is tied for ninth in the conference in strikeouts with 39 this season. Meanwhile, Stoffel (1.49) and Hudson (1.82) are two of six pitchers in the conference with an ERA under two. Hudson's three shutouts this season lead the conference while Roberts, with two shutouts, is in a four-way tie for second.

DAVIS & ELKINS AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 7-15
MEC Record: 1-3
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 7-15
Neutral Record: 0-0

SCOUTING THE SENATORS
Linzey Allard and Anjolina Gutierrez paced the D&E offense with 15 RBI apiece. Allard bats .392 which is just outside the top 10 of the MEC. Allard had six hits in four games versus Concord last season. The Senators' pitching staff has an ERA of 6.29 and allows teams to hit .346. Davis & Elkins has yet to play a home game this season, and the lone MEC win for D&E was at Fairmont State, 6-5.

WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN AT A GLANCE
Overall Record: 16-7
MEC Record: 3-1
Home Record: 0-0
Away Record: 3-3
Neutral Record: 13-4

SCOUTING THE BOBCATS
Perhaps the most tradition rich program in the MEC, West Virginia Wesleyan is off to another strong start this season after making the NCAA Tournament last season with a record of 38-18. While Hudson and Stoffel and the pitching staff have guided WVWC, Morgan Norris has driven in 16 runs at the plate and has 10 extra-base hits. Taylor Swartz is adding six doubles and 12 RBI. Eleven of the wins for Wesleyan came during its spring break trip in Florida. 

Original source can be found here