Game 1
After taking an early 3-0 lead in Saturday's first contest against Glenville State, it appeared as though Charleston's early season run of offensive excellence had finally hit a road bump. The Golden Eagles, in an improbable response that took a combination of incredible performances on the mound and clutch hitting from the entire roster, scored nine runs including three in the seventh inning and pulled off a 9-8 win to move to 27-9 (19-2 MEC) on the year.Â
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Second baseman Jordan Bailey, who singled to lead off the game, scored after Kyle West doubled. Tyler Dellerman then walked and a single from Eric Chartier brought the score to 3-0.Â
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In game one, Charleston tallied seven stolen bases and three homeruns. Glenville State tied the game in the fifth inning with an aggressive offensive mindset. The Pioneers answered back with a two-run homerun by M. Lohr and a solo homerun by T. Smith.Â
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The sixth inning was quiet as Charleston had zero runs, three hits, and two left on base. Glenville was unable to take the lead late in the game and Charleston kept the contest interesting as their bats came alive in the last inning. Dellerman was able to swing the momentum in Charleston's favor with a three-run homerun late in the top of the seventh inning.Â
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After taking a 6-2 lead on home runs in the top of the fifth by Braxton Boddorf and Evan Ulrich, the Pioneers answered with four runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. A quiet sixth inning would set the stage for some late game drama. In the top of the seventh, pinch hitter Drew Klaserner singled to lead off the inning, and after a flyout by Peter Costigan another pinch hitter would be called upon in the form of Clay Hale. Hale would single and move pinch runner Brayden McCallister to third on the hit. Jordan Bailey would strike out the next at bat and bring the frontrunner for MEC's Player of the Year Tyler Dellerman to the dish. The Maineville, Ohio native send the Golden Eagle dugout into a frenzy when he blasted his ninth home run of the season over the left field fence to take a 9-6 lead.Â
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The Pioneers would not go down quietly and loaded the bases with nobody out in the bottom of the seventh. Closer Jackson Mandella came on in relief and allowed two of Cole Peschl's runs to score. However, he would work out of trouble getting a groundout and then striking out Y. Agost to seal the game one victory for UC. Â
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Game 2
Coming off the first win of the weekend series, Charleston trotted out their number two starter, Drew Beckner for the second matchup with Glenville State. Beckner would strike out five Pioneer batters, allowing seven hits and two earned runs in 4.2 innings of work.Â
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The Pioneers took the lead in the bottom frame of the first inning with a double, single, and scored on a passed ball. Charleston's Braxton Boddorf doubled but was left on base in the second inning. Glenville State left two on base in the second inning and would not score again until the fifth.Â
UC finally got on the board after a single from Andre Martinez in the third inning, Dellerman had bring him home on a sacrifice fly to centerfield, scoring Martinez.Â
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Pioneers used a big fifth inning to take the lead and UC could not overcome the deficit. They tallied four runs, four hits, and one error, the Pioneers brought the score to 6-1. In another seventh inning attempt to take the lead, Casey Finck hit a three-run homerun, however, it was not enough, and the Pioneers took game two with a final score of 6-4.Â
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Game 3
Just like the first half of the series, both games in Sunday's doubleheader were close to the very end. The first game of the day started as a pitcher's duel with runs coming at a premium. After a scoreless first inning, UC started the scoring in the top of second inning with two runs. They came from a bases loaded walk by Jordan Bailey and a sacrifice fly by Dellerman the next at bat. UC stranded two runners in the inning and would not add another run in the rest of the contest. Glenville State responded in the third inning with three runs and three hits. They would add to the lead in the sixth on a two-run home run by F. Escalante bringing the score to 5-2.Â
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Jordan Bailey went 1-3 in the third game, with an RBI and a walk. Colt Webb pitched 5.1 innings allowed four hits, and four earned runs, to go along with seven strikeouts. Campbell Spradling game in as relief, pitching 0.2 inning with two strikeouts.Â
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Game 4
The final game of the series started with UC's Tyler Dellerman hitting a solo homerun to centerfield. Glenville's T. Smith answered for the Pioneers with a three-run homerun in the bottom of the first inning. F. Escalante also homered right after Smith's three-run shot to right center, giving Glenville State the 4-1 lead. The Pioneers continued their offensive onslaught by adding three more runs in the fourth inning.Â
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Charleston tried to make a late comeback with offensive efforts in the fifth and sixth innings. Three runs were added for UC in the top of the fifth frame. With singles from Brayden McCallister and Jordan Bailey, Kyle West reached on an error and scored Martinez. After Giano Zuccaro walked, Bailey scored and brought the score to 7-4 in favor of Glenville.Â
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Glenville State added three runs in the bottom of the fifth, bringing the score to 10-4. Charleston answered with three runs of their own. Dellerman hit his third homerun of the weekend and tried to keep UC in the game, but Charleston's offensive efforts fell short as Glenville State secured the 11-7 victory.Â
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UC falls to 27-12 overall and 19-5 in MEC conference play. The Golden Eagles are back home this weekend for a series against Concord University.Â
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