VMI baseball completes weekend sweep of The Citadel

VMI took both ends of a Southern Conference doubleheader Saturday at The Citadel, 9-5 and 5-4, to sweep the three-game series. The Keydets scored late in both games to go ahead, and the bullpen made the leads stand up.

Game 1

The Keydets broke open a 5-5 game with four runs in the eighth. Callen Nuccio and Cody Warner led off with walks and moved up a base on a Will Knight sacrifice bunt. After the second out, Justin Starke was intentionally walked to load the bases and Cole Garrett made the Bulldogs pay with a two-run double. An error brought two more runs home and

Will Lopez made the lead stand up with two innings of one-hit relief to close out the game.

Jacob Menders earned his third-straight win on the mound, scattering nine hits and one walk over seven frames with eight strikeouts. The red-shirt senior has gone at least seven innings in each of his last three starts and thrown 23 innings over that span.

Garrett went 2-5 with four RBI and Starke and Zac Morris each had two hits. Warner walked three times and Nuccio and Trey Morgan each doubled and had two walks.

Crosby Jones homered for The Citadel.

Game 2

VMI rallied late to take the nightcap after trailing 4-1 in the eighth. Knight reached base on an error to lead off the eighth and went to third on a double from Morgan. Starke and Morris followed with singles to plate both runners and Nathan Loyd brought home Starke with a groundout to tie the game. The Keydets scored the go-ahead run on a Bulldog error with two outs in the ninth. Morgan threw two scoreless innings to end the game and pick up the win.

Sam Ewald kept the Keydets close by throwing scoreless sixth and seventh innings. Nuccio went 2-3 with two runs, a triple and a walk and Starke was 2-5. Knight, Morris and Cole Jenkins each had a hit and a walk.

Lathan Todd threw seven innings for The Citadel, allowing just five hits, one walk and one earned run with five strikeouts in a no decision.

VMI (13-24/9-12 SoCon) hosts Samford University next weekend in another Southern Conference series.