BECKLEY, West Virginia -- After a Sunday sweep of (RV) Indiana University Southeast, WVU Tech split the four-game River States Conference (RSC) Games of the Week series, 2-2. Tech (20-22, 13-11 RSC) fell 1-3 and 2-9 Saturday before defeating the Grenadiers (26-9, 15-5 RSC) 6-2 and 5-4 on Sunday at Linda K. Epling Stadium in Beckley, West Virginia.
After another weekend of RSC baseball, WVU Tech is now No. 5 in the conference at six games back. IU Southeast is at No. 3, two games back from Point Park University and Midway University who are tied for the top spot.
The series featured a combined two pitching saves and three home runs throughout the weekend from both teams. IU Southeast's sophomore Jack Drew earned his second save of the season on the mound in game one while Tech's junior
Dalton Grisell picked up his second save this year in the final contest.
The Golden Bears saw long balls from freshman
Jacob Reimold and senior
Tanner Levine while IU Southeast's senior Logan Barnes knocked a home run in their 9-2 win.
Game One | (RV) IU Southeast 3, WVU Tech 1 | Box Score
The teams held each other scoreless until the fifth inning when IU Southeast got on the board first, plating junior Kyle Goodman off a single from fellow junior Richard Rodriguez.
The Grenadiers then posted runs two and three in the final inning when a sacrifice bunt from senior Matt Volz scored Goodman before a double from Rodriguez crossed senior Zach Reboulet.
Tech's lone score came from Reimold's lead off four-base knock in the bottom of the seventh.
The Gold and Blue's junior
Jerod Jobst (4-2) threw the first pitch of the series and a complete game one. Jobst scattered five hits and three earned runs while striking out five Grenadiers.
Junior John Cecil (2-0) drew the start for IU Southeast, throwing for five innings and the win. Cecil struck out two batters while giving up just four hits and zero earned runs.
Drew finished out the last two innings, giving up just two hits and one earned run.
Game Two | (RV) IU Southeast 9, WVU Tech 2 | Box Score
Tech finished with eight hits including two each from seniors
Chris Davidson,
Brady Groesbeck and
Alex Kotheimer. Davidson and Levine both recorded doubles in the loss while Levine and Reimold produced a RBI each.
IU Southeast had nine hits with Barnes and fellow senior Hector Marmol leading the way towards the win. Barnes finished 2-for-4 at the dish with a home run, three RBI and a run scored while Marmol recorded four RBI off a sac fly and a hit.
On the bases for Tech, Davidson, Groesbeck and Kotheimer grabbed a steal each.
Junior Brandon Nylin (4-0) stayed undefeated on the mound this season, pitching a complete game for the Grenadiers. Nylin retired four Golden Bears via strikes while giving up eight hits and two earned runs.
Senior
Jayson Sykora (1-5) earned the loss after three innings, giving up two hits and three earned runs while striking out one Grenadier.
Game Three | WVU Tech 6, (RV) IU Southeast 2 | Box Score
WVU Tech's senior
Trevor Lam finished a perfect 3-for-3 at the plate towards a triple, three RBI and a run scored.
Kotheimer also had a standout game, producing two RBI off a hit while Levine had a triple and a run scored and Groesbeck had a double and three runs scored.
IU Southeast's scores came in the sixth inning when a single from Maloon drove in Barnes and Rodriguez.
Senior
Jarron Monroe (3-2) earned the win on the mound for the Golden Bears, pitching 5.2 innings. Monroe gave up five hits and two earned runs while striking out one Grenadier.
Sophomore Kyle Hawkins (0-1) suffered the loss after one inning, scattering four hits and four earned runs.
Game Four | WVU Tech 5, (RV) IU Southeast 4 | Box Score
Levine kicked off the scoring in the final contest, knocking a one-out home run for the Golden Bears. He finished 2-for-3 with a double, RBI and two runs scored.
Kotheimer and Groesbeck also had multi-hit games for Tech, marking two to go with a RBI each.
IU Southeast's Rodriguez drove in two runs while junior Nicholas Lugo and Reboulet had one RBI each.
On the mound, Davidson (5-2) earned the win after 5.1 innings while junior Chase Vanek (4-2) took the loss after 3.2 innings. Davidson struck out three while giving up seven hits and three earned runs.
Grisell, who got the save, threw for one out to finish out the game.
The Golden Bears will take a break from conference play when they host Bluefield College Tuesday in East Bank, West Virginia for one nine-inning game.