Tournament Central
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score
BECKLEY, W.Va. -- West Virginia State won twice in extra innings to claim the 2015 Mountain East Conference Baseball Tournament championship.
The Yellow Jackets (35-14) forced a second game after defeating Shepherd, 8-7, in 10 innings after scoring twice in the eighth and ninth to tie the game. Then trailing 4-2 in the ninth in the second game, Cody Smith belted a game-tying home run to send the game in extra innings where Josh Kiser scored the winning run.
WVSU's Tyler Thompson was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player after going 2-0 with a 0.60 ERA in three appearances. Thompson picked up the win in relief in game one on Sunday and pitched five strong innings as a starter in game two. Teammates Phillip Mandt, Antony Payne and Jamison Jones were also named to the all-tournament team.
Shepherd (39-12) had Jacob Carney, Sam Crater and Matt Wilson earn MEC All-Tournament honors, along with Concord's Paul Williams and Zach Kelly, and Notre Dame's Danny Beaver.
Game 1
In the first game, West Virginia State rallied to force extra innings where it eventually won, 8-7, to force the decisive second game.
With the game tied at 3-3, Shepherd looked to take control by scoring four runs in the top of the eighth inning. WVSU got two back in the bottom half of the inning, and then tied the game in the ninth on an RBI from Jamison Jones and a sacrifice fly from Trenton Porter. The Yellow Jackets then got the winning run to third base in the bottom of the 10th when a balk was called on Brian Martin, allowing the game-winning run to cross.
Anthony Payne went 3-for-5 with two runs scored, and Phillip Mandt went 2-for-4 with three RBI to lead the WVSU offense. The Yellow Jackets used six pitchers in the win, with Tyler Thompson getting credit for the win after pitching a perfect 10th inning.
Martin (3-2) took the loss after pitching 2.2 innings of relief allowing five runs (three earned) on seven hits. Starter John Bentley pitched seven innings giving up three runs (none earned) on four hits with two strikeouts and a walk. Matt Wilson led the SU offense going 3-for-5, while Spencer Wolfe and Bryce Shemer added a pair of hits for the Rams.
Game 2
Cody Smith's two-run home run to left field with one out in the ninth inning helped send the game to extra innings where the Yellow Jackets prevailed, 5-4, to win the 2015 Mountain East Conference Baseball Tournament title.
Trailing 1-0, Shepherd scored in the fourth inning on an RBI single from Sam Crater, and then added two more in the sixth on a solo shot from Spencer Wolfe and and another RBI single from Crater. The Rams tacked on another in the seventh, but Anthony Payne hit a solo home run in the top of the eighth to cut the SU lead in half, 4-2.
That set the stage for Smith's game-tying home run in the ninth to force extra innings. In the 10th with two outs and two on, Jordan Simpson hit a chopper to short that was handled but the throw to first was wide allowing Josh Kiser to score the go-ahead run.
Shepherd, though, rallied in the bottom of the 10th loading the bases with one out, but a liner to Kiser at third was handled, and he stepped on the bag for the game-ending double play.
Reliever Josh Falbo (1-2) pitched 3.2 innings of relief earning the win, while Sam Crater (11-3) took the loss pitching two innings of relief.