CHILLICOTHE, Ohio -- WVU Tech baseball split with Midway University Tuesday to earn River States Conference (RSC) Tournament runners-up. The Golden Bears defeated the Eagles 4-1 before falling in the championship game, 7-9. Tech was the No. 4 seed and finished 3-2 in the double-elimination tournament while No. 5 Midway went 4-1 May 6-9 at the VA Memorial Stadium in Chillicothe, Ohio.

The Gold and Blue also defeated No. 6 Brescia University (5-4) and No. 3, the 2015 and 2016 RSC Champions, (RV) University of Rio Grande (8-6). Tech's tourney opener was a 0-3 loss to No. 2 seed and No. 21 in the nation (NAIA DI), Indiana University Southeast.

Game One | No. 4 WVU Tech 4, No. 5 Midway 1 | Box Score

Strategic hitting and base running helped lead Tech to their 4-1 victory over Midway as the Golden Bears recorded five sacrifice hits and six stolen bases as a team.

Seniors Roland Eusebio, Brady Groesbeck, Doug Prather and Sebastian Gomez Herrera (2) marked sacrifices for Tech.

On the bases, junior Abraham Alejandro (2), seniors Tanner Levine, Chris Davidson and Trevor Lam and freshman Jacob Reimold recorded stolen bases.

Lam led the way at the dish, finishing 2-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. Davidson and Gomez also drove a run in each.

The remaining three runs for Tech came from senior Alex Kotheimer and Reimold (2).

Freshman Michael Rotenberry moved to 4-1 on the bump this season after eight innings of work. The Princeton, West Virginia native struck out three eagles while giving up six hits and one earned run.

Redshirt junior Garrison Vandeventer (2-3-7) earned the save after pitching the final three outs for the Golden Bears. Vandeventer retired one batter via strikes and gave up two hits. The right-hander, who hails from Ocala, Florida, finishes the season ranked T21 in the nation (NAIA DI) for his save total (7).

Game Two | No. 4 Midway 9, No. 5 WVU Tech 7 | Box Score

The final game of WVU Tech's season was a back-and-forth battle with the Eagles that included a total of 23 hits between the teams.

Tech finished with 12 hits including multi-hit games from Prather and Reimold. Prather finished 2-for-4 with three runs scored and a RBI. The freshman was 3-for-5 with a RBI.

Levine marked a double, a sac fly, a RBI and a run scored. Kotheimer also knocked a two-bag hit and crossed the plate once.

Lam posted a hit and drove in Prather and freshman Brandon West off a ground out in the fifth inning.

The team lit up the base lines again, getting a steal from Kotheimer, Eusebio, West, Groesbeck and Prather.

Senior Jayson Sykora earned the loss on the mound after 1.1 innings. Sykora struck out one opponent while giving up four hits and one earned run.

Davidson drew the start, throwing for five innings towards four hits, four earned runs, four walks and four strike outs.

Vandeventer made another appearance, striking out two batters while scattering two hits and one earned run.

The Golden Bears finish their 2017 campaign as the RSC runners-up and with an overall record of 31-28 and league record of 18-12.
 

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