Senior first-baseman Jake Huggins slammed a pair of home runs Sunday as the VMI baseball team defeated St. Joseph’s University 9-4, but fell to UNC-Wilmington 5-3 in games played at UNCW.
VMI 9, St. Joe’s 4
Huggins hit a solo blast to left center to put the Keydets up in the first inning. SJU plated one in the bottom of the frame to tie the score, and added two more in the bottom of the second.
VMI pushed four runs across in the fifth, loading the bases with no outs. With runners at every base, Josh Hollifield singled Will Knight walked, Don Goodes was hit by a pitch and Cody Warner walked, each bringing in a run. Huggins delivered a three-run bomb to right center in the sixth inning to make it an 8-3 lead, and Goodes drove in another insurance run in the eighth.
Zak Kent earned the win on the hill for VMI, tossing five innings of six-hit ball, allowing two earned runs while striking out three. Will Lopez, Seth Nichols and Michael Spence took over in the sixth and allowed no earned runs in their combined four innings out of the bullpen.
Huggins was 3-6 with three runs scored and four RBI. Michael Diodato also had three hits and Knight had two, as the team had 12 for the game with six walks and two HBP.
UNCW 5, VMI 3
Huggins again got VMI on the scoreboard early in game 2, driving home Callen Nuccio in the third to give VMI a 1-0 edge. The Seahawks scored one in the bottom of the fourth, but the Keydets answered with two runs in the sixth on a double from Ryan Hatten and a single by Matt Keane. UNCW scored twice in the sixth and once each in the seventh and eighth.
Zach Sanders was strong in his first collegiate start and was perfect for the first three innings with five strikeouts. He completed 5 1/3 innings overall and gave up just three hits, a walk and two runs with seven strikeouts.
Cole Weiss had three hits and two RBI for UNCW (3-1).
VMI (2-2) travels to the University of Virginia Wednesday for another non-conference game at 3 p.m.
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Chris Graham
