The VCU Rams scored 10 of the game’s last 11 runs en route to an 11-4 win over the VMI Keydets, in non-conference baseball action Tuesday in Lexington, Va.
The Keydets (18-26) had taken an early 3-1 lead, sparked by a two-run Matt Pita homer in the first inning, but VCU (28-16) came right back with three runs in the second to take the lead for good. A four-run fourth, which included a three-run home run by second baseman Paul Witt, widened the lead to five and VMI would get no closer the rest of the way.
Witt led VCU’s offense with a three-hit night, while three Keydets – Peyton Maddox, Tyler Tharp and Matt Dunlevy – had two hits apiece for the home team. It was Dunlevy’s fourth straight multi-hit game, during which time he has gone 9 for 12.
VCU jumped out to an early lead, when leadoff hitter Logan Farrar homered on the fifth pitch of the game for a 1-0 Ram advantage. VMI rallied in the bottom half, however, and after a run scored on an error, Pita launched a 2-2 pitch for a two-run homer off starter Connor Gillispie. It was Pita’s fifth home run of the year and marked the second straight game in which he had gone deep.
The Rams took the lead for good in the second, when Farrar’s RBI single, a double steal and a RBI single for Darian Carpenter gave them a 4-3 lead. After the four-run rally in the fourth widened that gap to 8-3, a home run by Mitchel Lacey made it 9-3 in the fifth and the visitors added two more in the sixth for an 11-3 margin.
A RBI double by Dunlevy in the sixth made it 11-4 and capped the scoring.
On the mound, Luke Crabb (1-0) allowed one run in three relief innings to pick up the win, while starter Zak Kent (2-3) allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 frames and took the loss. Kent was hurt by four hit batsmen during his time on the mound.
VMI baseball will return to action Friday, when the Keydets open a three-game SoCon series at home against UNCG. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
Share
AFP
