LEXINGTON, Va. - Trailing 5-3 heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, two Keydets (21-20, 2-10 BSC) were able to reach base and set-up third baseman Kelly Sweppenhiser's (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) game winning three-run home run (7) to give VMI a 6-5 come from behind win over The College of William and Mary (27-12, 7-5 CAA) Wednesday afternoon at Patchin Field.

Sweppenhiser looked to be the goat of the game as his errors in the eighth and ninth innings helped The Tribe score three unearned runs and take a 5-3 lead.

But with one out in the bottom of the ninth, shortstop Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge) singled and centerfielder B.T. Good (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) got hit with a pitch to set the stage for Sweppenhiser's dramatic game winning blast to left centerfield. The homer was his second of the day and capped a 4-for-5 performance, with two home runs, a double and four RBI's

"Kelly Sweppenhiser had a great day at the plate," VMI head baseball coach Marlin Ikenberry said. "This is a great win for our program. (The win) shows the fight this team posses."

Keydet starter Josh Owens (Sandston, Va. / Benedictine) pitched brilliantly against The Tribe, who brought in an overall team batting average of .343.

In his first start of the season, Owens shutout William and Mary and held The Tribe to just four hits through six innings. But Owens got in trouble in the seventh when William and Mary third baseman John Lentz double in two runs to cut VMI's lead to 3-2.

Reliever Jeff DeMara (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge) replaced Owens after the double and was able to get VMI out of any more trouble that inning.

"Josh Owens did a great job in his first start of the year," Ikenberry said. "He kept their hitters off balance and they couldn't make any adjustments."

VMI scored runs in the first inning with hits by Smith and right fielder Elliott Erbe (Portsmouth, Va. / Western Branch), and in the second on two hit batsmen, a past ball and a wild pitch that put the Keydets up 2-0.

Sweppenhiser made it 3-0 in the fifth inning with a solo home run.

The Tribe's second baseman Will Rhymes went 3-for-5 with three RBI's, as Lentz added two RBI's with two hits.

Richard Litwin (Virginia Beach, Va. / Ocean Lakes) (3-3) threw an inning of relief and took the win for the Keydets, as William and Mary's Bill Bray (3-3) served up Sweppenhiser's game winner and suffered the loss.

The Keydets open a three game Big South series against Winthrop University at Patchin Field this weekend. The first game is Friday at 3:00 p.m.

-VMI-