DUNBAR, W. Va. – The Capital University baseball team went 2-for-3 on their opening weekend of the 2022 campaign, earning the first two wins for head coach Scott Manahan during his collegiate tenure. 

On the field, the Comets (2-1)  were led by Logan White who slashed .364 over the three games. He had four hits, three of which were doubles. He also collected four RBIs. 

Others playing well were Matt Anthony who hit .429 in two games and picked up four RBIs, CJ Rockwell who hit .400 in his two games with a home run, and Ben Stevens who collected three doubles across two games.

Capital provided debuts to several players over the course of the weekend including EJ Santana, Matt Anthony, Ryne McKinney, Hunter Wilson, Josh Gilmore, Cooper Walker, Josh Sagredo, Kaleb Stafford, Tyler Sickles, Colin Boldin, and Justin Mason.

GAME ONE: Capital wins 17-9
The Comets erupted early in just the second inning of play and went on their way to score the most runs in a single game since April of 2019, when they scored 19 vs. Hiram. 

Capital got their first run in the first inning on an RBI double from Logan White. White doubled home Brendan Stinson. Shortly thereafter, in the second inning, Cap would explode for seven runs to set the tone of the game. 

In that second inning, Brandon Barnette got the party started with a two-run double that plated Ben Stevens and Connor Feeney. Cap then benefited from a WV Tech error to keep the inning alive. Stinson singled to score Barnette, followed by a bases loaded HBP by Logan White. Kurt Maxwell then hit an RBI groundout, before freshman Ryne McKinney would plate two more runs on an RBI single to left. The hit scored White and Josh Gilmore. 

Cap added another run in the fourth as McKinney would once again find a way to score White. Logan had previously reached on another double and would score on McKinney's second RBI-hit of the game. 

The Golden Bears would fight back to score four runs in both the bottom of the fourth and the bottom of the fifth, closing the gap to 9-8. 

After a few scoreless innings, Cap got the momentum back, scoring five more runs. Matt Anthony got the scoring re-started with an RBI single with the bases loaded that scored Feeney. Cooper Walker then followed it up two-batters later with a two-RBI single that scored Barnette and Stevens. Immediately after Walker's hit, Logan White doubled yet again, scoring both Walker and Anthony. 

In the eighth, Cap kept it going as Anthony singled home two more runs, scoring Stevens and McKinney. 

In the ninth, the Comets capped off the win with one more run on CJ Rockwell's RBI single. Josh Gilmore led off the inning with a walk before stealing second. He then scored on Rockwell's first hit of the season. 

Bryant Caporale got the start on the mound and pitched 3.1 innings and earned the win. Despite some control issues that led to conceding four runs, Caporale limited WV Tech to just one hit in his work. Aaron Olech came on in relief and pitched a perfect 2.1 innings of work, sitting down all seven batters he faced. Tyler Sickles, Colin Boldin, and Justin Mason all made their Cap debuts in relief as well. 

GAME TWO: Capital wins 5-4
Capital would follow up their opening day domination with a 5-4 extra inning win to open up a doubleheader on Sunday morning. The Comets would keep the bats going with 10 hits in the game, and they would utilize the extra eighth inning to score three runs, leading to the eventual win. 

Trailing 1-0 through to the sixth inning, Capital needed to get something started. There, Brendan Stinson and Logan White reached via a single and a walk, setting the scene for Ben Stevens to double home both base runners. 

Another Golden Bears' run in the bottom half of the sixth tied the game at 2-2, forcing the extra eighth to be played. In the ninth, Cap got a rally going early with a single from Logan White. White was then advanced by a sac bunt from Ryne McKinney. With White on second, EJ Santana came through in the clutch to single him home. The rally didn't stop there as Evan Rottman followed Santana with a single of his own, putting two runners on. Hunter Wilson then cleared the bases with his first collegiate triple, giving the Comets a crucial pair of insurance runs. 

Reliever Brennon Newell would surrender a two-out, two-run homer to slam the door shut and secure the win for Capital, with the score at 5-4. Curtis Clark got the start for Capital and went a strong five innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four. Garrett Montgomery pitched one inning between Clark and Newell. 

GAME THREE: WV Tech wins 16-3
In the third and final game of the series with WV Tech, the bats significantly cooled off as the team managed just three hits and three runs in the game, while the Golden Bears collected 16 runs on 14 hits. 

The biggest hit of the weekend for Capital came in the second inning. After Connor Feeney was hit by a pitch, CJ Rockwell tattooed a ball over the fence for his first home run of the season. The homer tied the game at 2-2. 

In the top of the fourth, Cap once again leveled the score, this time at 3-3. Ethan Neal doubled, and was then hit home by Matt Anthony who singled up the gut to center field. 

From there, the wheels fell off and the Comets would fail to get another hit and WV Tech would explode for 13 more runs before the end of the ballgame. 

Kyle Bowles would ultimately be saddled with the loss in the game, as he went 2.2 innings three hits and a walk, conceding four earned runs. Gavin Vanhorn started on the bump, but was quickly chased due to control issues. Behind Bowles in the relief order, Colin Boldin, Aaron Olech, Spencer Knight, and Kaleb Stafford would all spend time on the mound. Stafford would have a solid debut for the Purple and White as he threw for 1.2 innings, and was hit just once. He allowed a single unearned run, and he struck out three hitters as well. 

UP NEXT
The Comets will return to the diamond next Sunday, March 6th as they travel down to the Lonestar State of Texas for their spring trip. There, the team will play nine games in seven days, beginning with a doubleheader vs. the University of Dallas.