The Old Dominion Monarchs scored 11 runs in the fourth inning and never looked back, on the way to a 19-4 win over the VMI Keydets on a cold, blustery day in Norfolk Wednesday afternoon.
With winds at 20 miles-per-hour on the 43-degree day, ODU (7-9) posted 11 runs on 10 hits against three Keydet (8-7) pitchers to pull away for good. VMI was also charged with three errors in the inning, but all 11 runs in the frame were earned.
Offensively, Vinnie Pasquantino led the Monarchs by going 6 for 6 with five RBI and three runs scored. Seven ODU players had at least two hits. Matt Pita had four hits to lead the Keydets, while Cody Warner went 2 for 2 off the bench and saw his first action in the field, spelling Peyton Maddox behind the plate.
The Keydets scored first on a broken delayed double steal in the second, but ODU tied the game in the third and took the lead for good in the fourth. The teams traded single runs in the bottom of the sixth and top of the seventh, making it 13-2, before ODU capped its scoring with a six-spot in the bottom of the seventh.
An RBI single by Pita, who finished a homer shy of the cycle, and a RBI double for Warner plated two runs in the ninth to account for the final margin.
On the mound, the starters got the decisions as Brandon Barbery (1-2) took the loss. He surrendered five runs on 10 hits in 3 1/3 innings, striking out three and walking two. Hunter Gregory allowed just one run in five innings for ODU, despite walking five VMI players, and moved to 2-2 on the year with the victory.
VMI baseball will return to action Friday, when the Keydets take on George Washington in Arlington, Va. First pitch of the opener of the three-game set is set for 3 p.m.
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