WISE, Va. - - UVa-Wise dropped a pair of baseball games to Mountain East Conference baseball games to West Virginia State at Stallard Field Saturday afternoon. The visiting Yellow Jackets scored two runs in the seventh inning of game one to win 5-3 before a five-run outburst in the opening inning of game two led to a 12-2 victory.

West Virginia State (20-14, 11-9 MEC) pushed across what would prove to be the winning run on a safety squeeze by Chris Jordan to give the guests a 4-3 lead in the seventh before adding on an insurance run when Andrew Stone laced an RBI single. Neither run in the inning was earned as UVa-Wise committed three errors in the game.

UVa-Wise (14-20, 11-9 MEC) played from behind throughout the day as the club fell behind 3-0 after 2 1/2 innings. A solo homer off the bat of senior Stuart Paz made it a 3-1 game after three frames before a run-scoring single by redshirt sophomore Josh Haga cut the lead to one at 3-2.

Junior David Thomas tied the game with a solo homer to right field in the fifth but the two unearned runs in the seventh would prove to be the difference as the Yellow Jackets took a 2-1 lead in the four-game series.

Coby Gainer (4-2) earned the mound win by scattering eight hits in six innings of work, he allowed three runs while striking out three and walking three in a 92-pitch effort. Cody Noe pitched a perfect seventh to record his first save of the year.

Greg Duncan (4-3) was the tough luck loser as he hurled his fourth consecutive complete game. The sophomore allowed just one earned run while striking out four against two walks.

Haga finished the game 2-for-3 to join Stone as the only players in the game to record more than one hit.

WVSU ambushed UVa-Wise with five runs in the first and two more in the second inning of game two to take a commanding 7-0 lead. The Yellow Jackets would score at least one run in each of the first four innings and score in every inning but the fifth to win the series 3-1 with a 12-2 win in game four.

Six WVSU players had at least two hits in the win, led by Trayvis Patterson who finished 3-for-3 with five RBi and two runs.

Paz and Brock Smith produced an RBI each in the loss.

Next up, UVa-Wise will entertain King University in a non-conference affair Tuesday afternoon at 4 p.m.