WEST LIBERTY, W.Va. – The West Liberty University baseball team couldn't get the bats untracked here Monday afternoon as perennial Mountain East Conference South Division power Concord pulled off a doubleheader sweep at sun-splashed Kovalick Field.
    Coach Eric Burkle's Hilltoppers (1-16, 1-13) battled the Mountain Lions (12-5, 3-1) to the wire before coming up short, 4-2, in the opener. Concord jumped on West Liberty early in the second game and coasted to an 8-0 win.
    In the first game, starting pitcher Logan Grimm and reliever Sam Aulick combined to hold the Mountain Lions to a season-low 6 hits – all singles – but Concord starter Andrew Neff kept the WLU bats at bay in a complete-game win.
    The Mountain Lions used four singles and a walk to put two runs on the board in the top of the first but West Liberty responded with three hits of its own in the bottom half of the frame, including an RBI base knock from Kaden Blomquist, to trail just 2-1 heading to the second.
    Both starting pitchers stiffened at that point. Grimm retired nine of the next 10 batters he faced - six by strikeout - to maintain that one-run deficit into the fifth. Concord got a leadoff single in the top of the fifth and turned that into a crucial pair of insurance runs with a pair of walks and a hit-by-pitch.
    Grimm came back with a scoreless sixth inning and Aulick kept the Mountain Lions off the board in the seventh but the damage had been done.
    After West Liberty's three-hit first inning, Neff didn't give up another hit until WLU scratched out a pair of infield hits in the bottom of the seventh to plate their second run of the game, which proved to be a case of too little, too late. Neff finished with 6 strikeouts and 2 walks while scattering five singles for the win.
    Grimm was saddled with the tough-luck loss, striking out 9 while issuing 5 walks and surrendering 6 singles. Leadoff hitter Ryan Talbert had two of the Hilltoppers' five hits.
    In the finale, Concord batted around to plate 6 runs on 5 hits – highlighted by Anthony Stehlin's two-run home run – and never looked back in completing the doubleheader sweep.
    Rylee Nicholas and Dan Nicholls teamed up on a three-hit shutout for the visitors. Nicholas worked the first five innings for the win while Nichols came on to pitch the sixth and seventh. The hard-throwing right-handers combined for 9 strikeouts and just 2 walks while holding WLU to three singles.
    The Hilltoppers will try to get the bats going on the road Saturday when they head to Davis & Elkins for a 1 p.m. doubleheader.
  Concord                                  200 020 0 - 4  6  0
West Liberty                          100 000 1 - 2  5  0
     CU: Neff wp (6SO, 2W) and Steel. Saryeldin 2S; Stehlin S, rbi; Hunter S, rbi
     WLU: Grimm lp (9SO, 5W), Aulick (7) (2SO, 1W) and Rine. Blomquist S, rbi
  Concord                                  060 100 1 - 8  11  0
West Liberty                          000 000 0 - 0    3  4
     CU: Nicholas wp (7SO, 2W), Nicholls (6) (2SO, 0W) and Duffer. Christian 3S, 2rbi; Duffer 2S, rbi; Hunter 2S; ; Stehlin HR, 3rbi; Dupont S, rbi
     WLU: Brady lp (1SO, 1W), Hess (5) (0SO, 0W), Bolander (6) (0SO, 1W), Dobson (7) (2SO, 1W) and Z.Hawkins.