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VMI Baseball Takes Two From Coppin State, 16-6 and 15-8

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The VMI Keydets swept a doubleheader over the Coppin State Eagles, winning 16-6 in the first game and 15-8 in the second game, on Saturday at Patchin Field.

In the first contest, VMI (14-7) used 19 hits on their way to a 16-6 win.

The Keydets jumped on the board early when freshman Brandon Massenburg (Prince George, Va. / Prince George) smashed a pitch from Coppin State's Danny Cruz over the left field wall for a solo homer and a 1-0 lead. VMI added a run in the second on a single to left field from senior Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. / Manchester) to score senior Jason Annis (Placentia, Calif. / Valencia) for a 2-0 advantage. The Keydets added four more runs in the third, highlighted by a three-run homer to left-center field from Annis, making the score 6-0.

The Eagles (6-19) came to life in the top of the fourth when sophomore Greg Fleet doubled down the left field line, scoring junior Eddie Wilson. Later in the inning, senior Rodney Morris nailed a pitch over the center field wall for a three-run homer. Mike Spann added another run on a double to left-center field, scoring Graham Johnson and cutting the lead to 6-5. Coppin State tied the contest in the top of the sixth on a sacrifice fly from Adam Figueroa, scoring Johnson.

VMI answered in the bottom of the sixth with a four-run inning that included a three-run homer to left-center field from freshman Allan Wimmer (Vienna, Va. / James Madison). The Keydets added two more runs in the seventh and four in the eighth, including a walk with the bases loaded from Wimmer to end the game at 16-6 via the 10-run mercy rule.

On the mound, sophomore Jimmy Thoms (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) pitched four and two thirds innings in relief to get the win. Johnson was given the loss.

"Jimmy Thoms did a great job coming out of the bullpen for us," said VMI head coach Tom Slater. "We swung the bats well, and it was good to see that."

In the second game, VMI used two grand slams in the bottom of the eighth to gain a 15-8 victory.

Coppin State jumped on the board first in the top of the second when Fleet scored on a wild pitch from senior Phil Hendrix (Richmond, Va. / West Iredell, N.C.). The Eagles continued to soar in the third inning, scoring three runs. Sophomore Ron Quick, Figueroa and Fleet each recorded a RBI to give Coppin State a 4-0 lead.

VMI got on the board in the bottom of the fourth when Wimmer scored on an Eagle error. Later in the inning, Barden singled to left field, scoring Annis and cutting the lead to 4-2.

Coppin State responded in the fifth with three runs, highlighted by a RBI from Quick and Fleet. Quick also scored on a wild pitch in the inning to give the Eagles a 7-2 lead.

The Keydets scored in the bottom of fifth when freshman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) scored on an error. VMI added two more runs in the sixth when Annis scored on a wild pitch and Barden scored on a sacrifice fly from Sweppenhiser. The Keydets tied the game in the seventh on solo homers from sophomores Elliott Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. / Western Branch) and Jon Wade (Marietta, Ga. / Harrison).

Senior Juan Miranda crushed a mammoth homer over the left-center field wall in the top of the eighth to give Coppin State an 8-7 lead.

VMI then pounded two grand slams in the bottom of the eighth for the final 15-8 margin. The first was a shot to left-center field from senior Justin Briggs (Rustburg, Va. / Rustburg). The second was hit over the left field wall by Barden.

On the mound, Hendrix pitched a complete game, giving up nine hits while striking out nine. During the game, Hendrix passed John Payne for first place in innings pitched at VMI. Hendrix has now pitched 264 and two thirds innings in his career. Senior Isa Abdul-Raheem was given the loss.

"Phil Hendrix got stronger as the game went on," noted Slater. "He found his grove in the seventh and pitched really well over the last three innings. Offensively, we did a great job manufacturing runs."

The Keydets will travel to Virginia Tech on Tuesday for a 3 p.m. game. Coppin State will play a doubleheader at Georgetown. The opening pitch is set for 3 p.m.
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