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VMI Baseball Splits Doubleheader With The Citadel; Losing, 10-0, in Game 1 and Winning, 7-6, in Game 2

Charleston, SC-The Citadel and VMI split a double-header with the Bulldogs taking game one 10-0 and the Keydets taking game two 7-6 in 11 innings in Southern Conference baseball action Saturday afternoon in Riley Park.

The Keydets' win in the second game clinched a record above .500 in SoCon play for the first time since 1989.

In game one, The Citadel (31-23, 18-11 SoCon) opened the scoring with one run in the second on a RBI groundout by Josh Stackley. Chris Ard, who singled and advanced to second on a throwing error, stole third and scored on Stackley's 4-3 groundout. In the third the Bulldogs extended their lead to 3-0. With Chris Altman on second after singling and advancing on a Jon Aughey walk, Matt Matulia drove-in Altman on a single to left. Aughey, who advanced to third on Matulia's base hit, then scored on a RBI-single by Brook Dantzler.

The Bulldogs blew the game open in the fourth as they plated six runs on four hits and a VMI error. The Dogs scored runs on a bases loaded error, a two-run double, two RBI singles and a run-scoring groundout. The Citadel sent 10 batters to the plate in the fourth. The Cadets tacked on a run in the sixth on Chip Cannon's 11th homer of the season. The solo homer put the Bulldogs up 10-0 and following a scoreless seventh, the game was called.

"We were sleep walking," said VMI head coach Tom Slater. "We just didn't do anything well."

In the second game, VMI (22-25, 16-13 SoCon) jumped out to an early 4-0 lead as the Keydets plated one in the first on a RBI double down the left field line by Allan Wimmer (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) and scored three in the second on five hits and a Bulldog error.

Down 4-0 in the fourth, The Citadel cut the lead in half, 4-2, on Cannon's 12th homerun of the season as he blasted a two-run homer to left. Matulia, who walked to lead off the fourth inning, scored on Cannon's 23rd career homer.

The Keydets pushed the lead back to four, 6-2, as the scored a run in the sixth and one in the seventh. Elliot Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. / Western Branch) scored on a fielding error by Ard, the Bulldog third baseman, in the sixth. In the seventh, Erbe singled in Wimmer, who reached on a base hit and then stole second to move into scoring position.

In the eighth, The Citadel cut the lead to 6-3 as Cannon plated Matulia on a single to right. After reaching base and advancing to second on a Keydet error, Matulia advanced to third on a Dantzler groundout before scoring on the Cannon RBI-single. The Bulldogs tied the score 6-6 in the bottom of the ninth, on an Altman three-run homer to right. Keydet reliever J.J. Hollenbeck (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) got the final two batters to pop-up and groundout to squelch the Bulldog rally and end the inning with a runner on third.

VMI won the game in the 11th inning as they plated a run on a Wimmer RBI-single to score Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. / Manchester) and kept the Bulldogs from scoring in the bottom half of the 11th frame.

Cannon (3-3) earned the win for the Bulldogs in game one on four innings of work, while Jimmy Thoms (Newport News, Va. / Denbigh) (3-5) took the loss for the Keydets as he surrendered eight runs on six hits. In the second game, VMI's Hollenbeck (1-3) got the win with 2.2 innings of relief work. VMI Senior Phil Hendrix (Richmond, Va. / West Iredell, N.C.) struck out three batters to become VMI's all-time leader in career strikeouts with 207. The Citadel's Shannon Sprouse (5-3) took the loss as he gave up the game-winning run in the eleventh.

"We swung the bats well early," noted Slater. "We had opportunities to extend the lead but didn't. Hollenbeck pitched great in relief to get the win, and Wimmer had the big hit. I expect another good game tomorrow."

The Bulldogs and Keydets will meet Sunday, May 18, at 1:00 pm in Riley Park for the rubber game of the series and the regular season's final game.

Courtesy of The Citadel Sports Information Department
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