ELKINS, W.Va. — Showing resiliency against one of the hottest teams in the league, Davis & Elkins baseball fell short following two valiant comebacks against West Virginia State on Sunday, dropping a doubleheader by scores of 8-5 and 9-4 in eight innings at Harpertown Field. 

Davis & Elkins (7-21) rallied to tie both games late before surging West Virginia State (28-7) responded with a crooked number in the subsequent inning, pushing the Yellow Jackets winning streak to 13 consecutive contests. 

Game One
Zachary McGillan settled in on the mound in game one after a four-run first inning for WVSU, tossing four innings with five strikeouts as the pitch count continued to creep up. McGillan needed nearly 30 pitches to escape the first inning, but not before a three-run home run from Matt Harrison and a run-scoring double from Jared Hunt pushed the Yellow Jackets in front early. 

Christian Ortega went 3-for-4 at the plate in game one, tattooing his fifth home run of the season to center field in the fourth. The homer was the second in as many days for Ortega, who touched home for the Senators' first run of the day, trimming the deficit to 4-1. 

Trey Junkins lifted the Yellow Jackets ahead 5-1 with a fifth-inning single before the Senators strung together some offense in the sixth to get back into the game. Consecutive walks to Chase DeGrood and Max Larimore set the table for Ortega, who collected another RBI with a single deep into the infield to short. 

Facing a new pitcher, Cole Hitch smacked a 1-1 pitch to center as Larimore crossed home with D&E trailing 5-3. Moving to second on a passed ball, Hitch zipped to third on a run-scoring single from Zachary Higgins. Jeremy Torres collected the game-tying hit on a groundout to second, scoring Hitch as the score moved knotted at five. 

With Higgins at third, D&E looked poised to take the lead with just one out, but Yellow Jacket hurler Nick Loftis got out of the jam with consecutive groundouts to short. WVSU plated three runs in the seventh before closing out the game for the series win. 

Carlos Texeira and Carlos Vizcaya finished out the game on the mound for D&E. 

Game Two 
A game-tying seventh inning blast for Najay King provided a jolt for the Senators and pushed the game into extra innings before the Yellow Jackets struck for five runs in the top of the eighth, putting things out of reach. 

Ortega continued his strong day offensively, collecting three more hits and another RBI in game two. Meanwhile, John Arcaro notched multiple knocks for D&E offensively. 

WVSU tacked on single runs in the first, fourth, sixth and seventh innings for a 4-1 lead. Looking to close things out, King brought home Ortega and Larimore with his second homer of the season. 

The Yellow Jackets racked up five runs in the eighth, putting the game out of reach. McKinley Scott tossed five innings, scattering four hits while allowing two runs (one earned). Scott fanned seven with only one walk in one of his best outings of the season. 

Rory Burke and Justin Wisniewski each allowed a run in one inning of relief for the Senators. 

Up Next 
Davis & Elkins finishes out the regular season with a four-game set against WV Wesleyan, beginning Friday, May 7 at 1:00 PM. 

   

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