Collin Fleischer drove in five runs and Matt Pita scored four times to pace a 15-hit attack as the VMI Keydets downed the Quinnipiac Bobcats, 13-7, in non-conference baseball action Sunday in Lexington, Va. With the victory, VMI won the series two games to one to claim its third straight series victory.
Quinnipiac (6-7) scored first, tallying a run in the opening inning against Brandon Barbery, but VMI (7-7) quickly took the lead for good. With one out, Pita singled, Tyler Tharp walked and Fleischer hit a three-run homer to left to give the Keydets a lead they would not surrender. Peyton Maddox followed with a long ball as the Keydets went back to back to the first time since last March against UMES.
The home team led 8-1 headed to the fourth, but a QU rally pulled the visitors within an 8-6 count two innings later. Fleischer added a RBI single in the sixth and a sacrifice fly in the seventh, helping VMI score five times in those innings to stave off the visitors’ rally.
Kyle Staats (1-0) picked up the victory with 1 2/3 innings of relief, equaling the second-longest outing of his career. He gave up one run on three hits and struck out three to tie his career-best in that statistic as well.
QU starter Christian Nicolosi (2-1) was knocked out in the second inning, having been tagged for eight runs, four of which were earned, and he took the loss.
Offensively, every Keydet starter reached base and all except shortstop Jacob Jaye had a hit. Five players had multi-hit games, with Pita’s three topping that list, and Matt Dunlevy joined Maddox and Fleischer with home runs.
The Bobcats got another big game from Liam Scafariello, who went 3 for 4 with four RBI, three runs scored and his second home run of the weekend.
VMI baseball will return to action Tuesday, when the Keydets take on the Old Dominion Monarchs in Norfolk, Va. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
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