VMI hosts JMU on Tuesday

VMI baseball will return to action Tuesday, when the Keydets take on the James Madison Dukes at Gray-Minor Stadium. First pitch is set for 7 p.m.

How to Follow

Tuesday’s game can be seen live on WatchESPN and the ESPN app with Wade Branner and Chris Graham on the call. In addition, fans can follow along via live stats and periodic updates on the @VMIbaseco Twitter page.

Probable Starting Pitchers

Neither team had announced a starting pitcher at press time.

First Words – Game Notes

Right fielder Tyler Tharp is chasing several single-season marks over the course of VMI’s final games of the season.

SLUGGING PERCENTAGE – Tharp enters Tuesday’s game with what would be the fifth-highest single-season slugging percentage in school history at .686. He would be the first player since 2007 to join the top-10 list in that stat, and just the second since 1999.

TOTAL BASES – Tharp enters Tuesday’s game with 129 total bases this season. That is tied for the fourth-most in school history, and with one more base, would be the most in any year other than 2010, when Cory Spangenberg had 140 and Jordan Ballard and Graham Sullivan had 134 apiece.

HITS – Tharp currently has 66 hits, six shy of tying Kelly Sweppenhiser’s 72 hits in 2006 for the 10th-most in school history. If Tharp breaks into the top-10 in that stat, he’d be only the second player since 2011 to do so.

HOME RUNS – And finally, Tharp has 16 home runs, tying Greg Weddle’s 16 bombs in 1985 for the second-most in VMI history. The school record is Ballard’s 18 in 2010.

In this past Saturday’s opener against Furman, Keydet ace Josh Winder exceeded the 90-inning pitched mark for the season. In doing so, he became the first VMI pitcher to go over that plateau since 2009.

The Keydets are looking for a series sweep of JMU and to move to 4-0 on the year against programs coached by former Keydet coaches or assistants. VMI also swept the season series from Longwood.

The Keydets are attempting to keep momentum heading into the final regular season series of the year on Thursday, when VMI faces ETSU at Gray-Minor Stadium. Both teams are part of a three-way jockeying (with The Citadel) for the #7 seed in the upcoming SoCon Tournament, and thus, are also jockeying to make it into the main draw and avoid the 8-9, “play-in” game.

Next Time Out

The Keydets open their final series of the regular season Thursday, playing host to ETSU at 6 p.m.