#8 seed The Citadel Bulldogs scored eight runs over their final three at-bats to overcome a three-run deficit and went on to defeat the fourth-seeded VMI Keydets, 10-5, in game 11 of the 2015 SoCon Baseball Championship in Charleston, S.C. The loss ended the season for VMI (21-30), a season that included the Keydets’ first postseason victory since 2010.
The Citadel (28-29) advances to play #1 Mercer Saturday afternoon at 12:30 p.m.
The Keydets took a 5-2 lead into the sixth, but Stephen Windham reached on an error to start the bottom of that frame. Drew Ellis followed with a line shot two-run home run to right field and Stephen Hansen then launched a home run of his own to tie the game, 5-5. William Kinney then singled home the go-ahead runs three batters later to give the Bulldogs a 6-5 lead they would not surrender.
Austin Mason (3-2) picked up the win with a shutout sixth inning, while VMI starter Austin Heenan (1-7) was hit for six runs, four earned, in 5 2/3 innings. He walked one and struck out a career-high eight.
The Citadel took an early 2-0 lead, but VMI got on the board in the fourth. Brandon Angus led off with a single and stole second as David Geary struck out. The throw to second base hit Angus and deflected away for an error, allowing him to advance to third where he would score on a Matt Winn groundout to make it 2-1.
The Keydets then took the lead in the fifth. Will Connerley led off with a single and Thomas Stallings followed with one of his own. Tyler Tharp then singled home a run and Jacob Jaye blasted a ground-rule double to right center to give the Keydets the lead, 3-2. Zach Lavery relieved starter Jacob Watcher and Ray Lopez greeted him with a two-run single for a 5-2 VMI lead.
Lopez then made one of the best plays of the season in the fifth, a play that was the #4 Top Play on SportsCenter Friday evening. With one out in the frame, Johnathan Stokes hit a hard liner immediately over Lopez’s head. The outfielder was fooled momentarily on the ball and froze, but then broke back and made a head-long, diving, over the shoulder catch to rob Stokes of extra bases.
That only kept the Bulldogs off the board until the sixth, however, when they took the lead with a four-run frame. The Citadel scored once in the seventh and three times in the eighth, and although the Keydets put runners in scoring position in each of the last four innings, VMI did not score again.
Offensively, the Keydets were led by Angus, who went 3 for 4 with two stolen bases in his final collegiate game. Shortstop Jordan Tarsovich was unable to play due to a lower body injury suffered in the first game of the day.
Walsh and Ellis had three hits apiece for the Bulldogs.
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Chris Graham
