Lexington, Va. -- The College of Charleston Cougars scored 10 runs in the first three innings en route to a 18-6 win over the VMI Keydets on Saturday at Patchin Field.

College of Charleston (28-22, 15-10 SoCon) wasted little time jumping on the scoreboard when senior Brett Spivey smacked a single to right field, scoring Lee Curtis and Brett Gardner. Two batters later, senior Stanley Nix singled to center field, scoring Spivey. A VMI error on the play allowed Matt Lauderdale to score, making the score 4-0 after the top of the first inning.

The lead grew to 7-0 in the second as Spivey crushed a two-run homer to right-center field. Nix added the other run in the inning when he smacked a double down the right field line to score Lauderdale. The Cougars increased their advantage to 10-0 in the third with three runs, highlighted by a two-run double from junior Mark Lyons.

The Keydets (19-24, 13-12 SoCon) finally came alive in the bottom of the third when freshman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) nailed a two-run homer to left-center field. Later in the inning, senior Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. / Manchester) added a two-run homer of his own with a shot to center field to cut the lead to 10-4.

College of Charleston responded with three runs in the fourth when Gardner doubled to right-center, scoring Jay McCown and Brett Anderson. The third run came on a single to left field from Lyons to score Gardner to make the score 13-4. The Cougars increased their lead in the top of the fifth when sophomore Anthony Fairchild doubled down the right field line to score McCown. Fairchild later scored to make it 15-4 on a grounder from Gardner.

VMI added its final two runs in the bottom of the fifth when senior Jason Annis (Placentia, Calif. / Valencia) was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded to score senior Ben Rand (South Boston, Va. / VCU). Sophomore Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge) followed with a single to center field to bring sophomore Elliott Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. / Western Branch) home to cut the lead to 15-6.

The Cougars scored the game's final three runs, including a solo homer to left field by Curtis.

On the mound, sophomore Matt Soale pitched five innings, allowing six runs and 11 hits to pick up the win. Senior James Fender pitched the final four innings, allowing no hits or runs to pick up the save. Senior Jeremy Harper (Seneca Rocks, W.Va. / Pendleton County) was given the loss.

"We walked seven batters and hit five. Anytime you give a team like College of Charleston 12 free base runners, you're not going to have a chance to win," stated VMI head coach Tom Slater. "We pitched terribly and made too many errors. I was probably the worst game we've played all year. The good news is that we have two more days of baseball and two good pitchers for the next two days. We'll come out tomorrow and be ready to go."

VMI and College of Charleston will lock up again on Sunday in a 1 p.m. battle at Patchin Field.


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