BECKLEY, W.Va. – After an overnight fog delay that halted play, the Golden Eagles played their way to their second straight Mountain East Conference Championship on Saturday afternoon. With the victory, the Golden Eagles have earned the automatic qualifying bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament for their second year in a row.

THE BASICS
GAME 1 SCORE– UC 9, NDC 8
LOCATION – Beckley, W.Va. – Linda K. Epling Stadium
RECORDS— Charleston (37-17 MEC), NDC (28-27)
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Falcons scored in the top of the first on a wild pitch, but the Golden Eagles answered in the bottom of the inning as Austin Hathaway scored. Hayden Cartt knocked in a pair of runs with a double to center field to take the 3-1 lead.
 
Charleston opened the bottom of the second inning with a solo homerun by Austin Hathaway to give the Golden Eagles the 4-1 advantage.  
 
Hathaway led the Golden Eagles with a 3-for-4 outing at the plate, scoring three runs, and tallying two RBI.  Sophomore outfielder Hayden Cartt also went 3-for-4 with three RBI. Tournament MVP Gianfranco Morello went 1-for 4, scoring two runs, and knocking in three.


After the Falcons took the 5-4 lead in the top of the sixth, officials called a delay as the fog rolled in. The game resumed at 12:30 Saturday afternoon.

Jordan Peck got the start for the Golden Eagles, pitching 5. 1 innings. After allowing six runs, Robert Fultineer got the ball to start the day off on Saturday, the senior got his first win on the 2019 season after 3.1 innings, four strikeouts, retiring 8 of 13 batters. Levi Nash closed for the Golden Birds gaining his first save.

The Falcons reliever, Chris Murphy took the loss after 4.1 innings, he passed the ball onto Kenny Pierson after allowing five runs.

Zach Santoro went 2-for-5, with a run scored and one RBI to lead the Falcons while four other Falcons notched RBI in the loss.

The Falcons kept their offense rolling in the top of the sixth taking a 7-4 lead on singles from Miley and Santoro, but the Golden Eagles tacked on five runs in the bottom of the sixth to take the 9-7 lead. Doubles from Morello and Hathaway, a single from Colby Johnson, and a triple from Cartt sent all runners in for UC.
 
The Falcons brought the score within one run on a homer from Ricky Phillips in the top of the ninth, but it would not be enough to catch Charleston.
 

 
UP NEXT
The Golden Eagles will face the Gannon Golden Knights on Thursday May 16. The matchup is set for 2:00 p.m.