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VMI Baseball Splits Doubleheader With Wofford, Winning 5-3 In Game One and Falling 11-5 In Game Two

LEXINGTON, Va. -- The VMI Keydets split a Southern Conference doubleheader with the Wofford Terriers, winning 5-3 in the first game and losing 11-5 in the second game, on Saturday at Patchin Field.

In the first contest, sophomore Duke Acors (Richmond, Va. / Atlee) pitched eight solid innings to lead the Keydets to a 5-3 win.

Wofford (8-30, 6-16 SoCon) jumped on the scoreboard early when sophomore Scott Holloway nailed the first pitch of the game over the left-center field wall for a solo homer, giving the Terriers a 1-0 lead. The score remained the same until the top of the fourth as senior Tony Carbone's bunt single brought home Brian Casey to increase the advantage to 2-0.

VMI (15-23, 9-11 SoCon) erased the lead in the bottom of the fourth on back-to-back solo homers from sophomore Elliott Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. / Western Branch) and senior Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. / Manchester). Erbe's shot went over the scoreboard in left-center field and Barden's homerun was to center field. The Keydets took the lead in fifth on a double down the left field line from freshman Allan Wimmer (Vienna, Va. / James Madison), scoring freshman Brandon Massenburg (Prince George, Va. / Prince George). Wimmer later scored on a double to right-center field from senior Justin Briggs (Rustburg, Va. / Rustburg). VMI added its final run in the sixth on a single to center field from freshman B.T. Good (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) to bring home sophomore Jon Wade (Marietta, Ga. / Harrison) for a 5-2 Keydet lead.

The Terriers added a run in the ninth when Brian Casey doubled to center field, scoring junior Blake Timanus.

On the mound, Acors allowed three runs on seven hits with two strikeouts to get the win. Sophomore Jeff DeMara (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge) struck out two batters in the final inning to pick up his fifth save of the season. Freshman Jesse Cole was given the loss for Wofford.

"Duke Acors had an excellent start once again, and Jeff DeMara came in during the ninth and did an outstanding job of closing out the game for us" said VMI head coach Tom Slater. "Barden and Erbe's homers got us back in it, and we manufactured some runs late."

In the second game, Wofford used a six-run eighth inning to pick up an 11-5 win.

The Terriers wasted little time jumping on the board when sophomore Matt Lein hammered a pitch from senior Jeremy Harper (Seneca Rocks, W.Va / Pendleton County) to left-center field for a solo homer. Wofford added another run in the top of the second when Cole doubled down the left field line, bringing Brian Casey home. The lead grew in the third on homer to left-center field from Holloway, making it a 3-0 lead. The advantage grew to 4-0 in the fourth when Zach Pittman scored on a double down the right field line from Holloway.

VMI answered in the bottom of the fifth when senior Ben Rand (South Boston, Va. / VCU) and Good scored on a Wofford error. Freshman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) tied the game at 4-4 on a single to center field, bringing home Massenburg and sophomore Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge). Erbe gave the Keydets a 5-4 lead later in the inning on a double down the right field line, scoring Sweppenhiser.

The Terriers tied the contest at 5-5 on a sacrifice fly from Holloway, bringing Carbone home.

The game stayed knotted at 5-5 until the top of the eighth when Steve Casey smacked a single to right-center field, scoring Matt Davis. Timanus added two more runs with a single to right field, bringing Lein and Holloway home. Brian Casey brought Steve Casey home with a sacrifice fly, and added the knockout blow with a homer to left that stayed just inside the foul pole for a two-run shot.

On the mound, senior Culley Kline pitched four scoreless innings in relief to pick up the win. Sophomore Jimmy Thoms (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) was given the loss.

"We battled back to take the lead, but they had some big hits and a homer to pull it out," noted Slater. "The kids played hard and played great defense all day. I expect tomorrow to be another great game."

The Keydets and Terriers will face each other again on Sunday at Patchin Field. The opening pitch is set for 1 p.m.
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