BECKLEY, W.Va. – Senior pitcher Paul Hvozdovic (Herndon, Va./Herndon) set a Shepherd record with his 11th win of the season and the Rams smacked 17 hits on the day en route to a 15-3 win over West Liberty in first day action of the MEC Tournament at Linda K. Epling Stadium on Thursday.
West Liberty took a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning behind an RBI-triple by Mike Johnson and a sacrifice fly by Scott Castilow.
Shepherd tied the game at 2-2 in the bottom of the frame. Freshman second baseman Jacob Carney (Stephens City, Va./Sherando) tripled and later scored on a single off the bat of as junior catcher Spencer Wolfe (Huntingtown, Md./Huntingtown/USC Aiken). Wolfe later scored on a single by senior designated hitter Ryan Messina (St. James, NY/Smithtown East/Tampa).
The Rams took a 5-2 lead in the second. Junior third baseman Bryce Shemer (Potomac, Md./Winston Churchill/Colorado Mesa) led off with a double and scored on a double by senior outfielder Michael Lott (Woodbridge, Va./Woodbridge). Lott later scored on a double by Wolfe. The Rams added another tally as Carney singled and eventually scored on a ground out by junior outfielder Mark McCormick (Centreville, Va./Centreville).
Shepherd extended its lead to 7-2 with a pair of runs in the third behind RBIs from senior shortstop T.J. Weisenberg (Hedgesville, W.Va./Martinsburg) and Lott.
Shepherd added three runs in the fourth behind an RBI-single by Messina and a two-run double by Shemer.
Messina belted a three-run blast in the seventh for his sixth round-tripper of the year to up the Shepherd lead to 13-2.
Shepherd plated two runs in the eighth on a two-run double by junior catcher Jason Hepple (Margate, Fla./Highland Christian Academy/Garrett CC).
The Hilltoppers added a run in the ninth behind an RBI-single by D.J. Busby.
Messina went 3-for-4 with five RBIs and run scored to lead the Rams. Wolfe went 3-for-5 with two RBIs and two runs scored, while Lott added a 2-for-5 effort with two RBIs and three runs scored. Shemer had a pair of doubles and drove in two runs.
Busby and Josh Nagel each had a pair of hits for the Hilltoppers.
Hvozdovic (5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 4 Ks, 1 BB) (11-0) picked up the win for the Rams. He broke the single season wins mark of 10 that he shared with J.R. Fitzwater and Brian Renner. Hvozdovic got help from junior Brian Martin (Westminster, Md./Winters Mill) (3.0 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 2 Ks, 0 BB) and sophomore Derek Buckley (Toms Brook, Va./Strasburg) (1.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 Ks, 0 BB). Hilltopper starter Mark Smyth (5-4) (2.1 IP, 10 H, 7 ER, 1 K, 1 BB) took the loss.
Shepherd improves to 38-10, while West Liberty falls to 26-24. The top-seeded Rams return to action on Friday at 3 p.m. when they face Urbana.
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