VMI baseball falls to Richmond, 10-6

VMI pitchers recorded 15 strikeouts, but the Richmond Spiders scored in seven of the nine innings and went on to a 10-5 victory over the Keydets in non-conference baseball action Wednesday night in Lexington, Va.

The Keydets (10-20) held a brief 4-3 lead after two innings, but Richmond (19-11) tied it in the third and took the lead for good one inning later. Daniel Brumbaugh reached on a throwing error by second baseman Jacob Jaye with one out, and that brought Matthew Eagle on in relief of Jack Gomersall. After a strikeout, Michael Morman doubled down the left field line to score Brumbaugh and make it a 5-4 game, a lead the Spiders would not surrender.

Gomersall (1-1) took the loss for the Keydets, as he gave up two runs (one earned) in 1 2/3 innings. Peter Bayer (1-3) allowed just one walk in two innings.

Richmond jumped out to the early lead with two runs in the first, and added on an unearned run on a single by Tyler Beckwith in the second for a 3-0 lead.

The Keydets responded with four runs in the second to take the lead. Will Connerley was hit by a pitch to open the frame and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Matt Winn walked and one out later, Collin Fleischer doubled home a run to make it a 3-1 game. After Jacob Jaye flew out to center field, Lopez doubled home two runs and Jordan Tarsovich gave the Keydets the lead with a single to left.

UR tied the game in the third on a RBI single by Kyle Adams, then went ahead in the fourth before pulling away with a three-spot in the sixth. Daniel Brumbaugh had a solo home run with one out and a two-run double by Tanner Stanley made it 8-4, Richmond.

The Keydets got a run back on a titanic home run by Winn, his eighth of the year that made it 8-5, but the Spiders scored single runs in the eighth and ninth to account for the final margin.

Neither starter figured in the decision on a staff day, as Andrew Woods left the game in the second inning and Justin Garcia completed just two frames.

Offensively, five different players had two hits apiece to lead UR. Brumbaugh scored four runs for the Spiders and Lopez paced VMI with a 2 for 4 night that included two doubles.

VMI baseball will return to action this weekend, when the Keydets open a series against former Big South foe Gardner-Webb in Boiling Springs, N.C. First pitch Friday is set for 6 p.m.