Callen Nuccio and Don Goodes each had three hits Friday evening as the VMI baseball team defeated The Citadel 9-5 in the opening Southern Conference game of the season for both teams.
Junior Jacob Menders went the distance on the hill for the Keydets, allowing seven hits, one walk and three earned runs with five strikeouts to earn the complete game victory.
VMI had 12 basehits as a team, with eight players recording hits. Josh Hollifield drove in three runs, while Ryan Hatten drove in two with a home run. Noah Cook reached base three times, doubled and scored twice and Nuccio also walked to reach base four times.
The Keydets scored twice in the third and fourth innings to take a 4-0 lead. Hollifield drove in two with a two-out single in the third, and Cody Warner doubled and Nuccio singled to bring home the runs in the fourth. The Citadel scored three times in the fifth to cut the lead to 4-3, a Hollifield sacrifice fly in the seventh made it a two-run game. Hatten homered in the seventh to push the advantage to 7-3, but the Bulldogs countered with two in their half of the eighth. VMI plated two insurance runs in the ninth on a Goodes single and an error later in the inning.
Ryan McCarthy was 2-4 for The Citadel.
VMI (5-16/1-0) will play the Bulldogs (7-15/0-1) Saturday at 2 p.m. and Sunday at 1 p.m.
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Chris Graham
