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VMI Baseball Team Splits Doubleheader with Hofstra

LEXINGTON, Va. ? Senior right fielder Elliott Erbe (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) knocked a thrilling two-run home run to provide the decisive runs in the bottom of the eighth and senior right-hander Jeff DeMara (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) picked up his first win of the season as VMI beat Hofstra 9-8 in the opener of a doubleheader on Saturday at Patchin Field. The Keydets dropped the second game 5-4 and are now 1-4 on the season. Hofstra also moved to 1-4.

DeMara came on in the top of the eighth in the first game and got the only batter he faced to ground out to shortstop. DeMara worked one and a third innings, allowing one earned run on two hits and fanned one to move to 1-0 on the season.

“Obviously, we made it exciting in the first game,” VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry said. “Elliott Erbe had a big at bat. We swung the bats well.”

Erbe finished 2-for-4 in the opener, scored three runs, and knocked in a pair of runs. The Keydets had 13 hits with five players knocking two hits apiece. Junior first baseman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa./Line Mountain) went 2-for-4 with two runs and two RBI while junior second baseman B.T. Good (Vienna, Va./James Madison) finished 2-for-3 and scored twice. Freshman catcher Stephen Parsons (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) and freshman left fielder Klint Reed (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird) each had two hits apiece.

VMI took a 3-0 lead after one inning as Sweppenhiser opened the scoring by belting his and the team's first home run of the season, a one-out shot to left-center field. After back-to-back walks to Erbe and Good, sophomore center fielder Thane Smith (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial) grounded out to first base, advancing the runners to second and third respectively. Parsons followed with a two-run single to left field, putting the Keydets up 3-0.

Hofstra knotted the score 3-3 in the top of the third, scoring three runs on four hits. The Pride led off the inning with a double by senior center fielder Josh Stewart (Bloomsburg, Pa./Bloomsburg Area), who scored one batter later on a double to left field by junior third baseman Ricky Caputo (Miller Place, N.Y./Miller Place). Hofstra would add two more runs in the inning.

VMI regained the lead in the bottom of the third, scoring two runs on a pair of hits. A one-out double by Erbe to right field was followed by a walk to Good. The duo then each advanced one base on a passed ball. A sacrifice fly by Smith scored Erbe with the go-ahead run and Good would also score in the frame on an RBI single to center field by Parsons as the Keydets went in front 5-3 after three.

VMI would take a 7-3 lead before Hofstra battled back with four unanswered runs to knot the score at seven heading into the bottom of the eighth. That set the stage for Erbe's dramatic home run and from there DeMara closed out Hofstra in the ninth.

Game two also saw VMI take an early lead as Reed knocked his first collegiate home run with a solo shot over the left field fence in the second inning. VMI maintained that one-run lead before Hofstra exploded for three runs in the top of the fourth. Caputo and junior shortstop Josh Sterns (Millwood, N.Y./Horace Greeley) opened the inning with back-to-back home runs and junior first baseman Mike Walsh (Norfolk, Mass./King Philip Regional) followed with a single to right field. Walsh advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored two batters later on an RBI-single to center field by junior
catcher Steve Oliveri (Huntington Station, N.Y./St. Anthony's), putting the Pride in front 3-1.

VMI forged a 3-3 tie with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Reed knocked an RBI single to left field scoring Good who had led off the inning by reaching after being hit by a pitch. Reed also scored in the inning on a sacrifice fly by sophomore catcher Robert Crumpler (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond-Suffolk).

After Hofstra took a 4-3 lead in the fifth, VMI scored once in the bottom of the seventh when senior shortstop Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) knocked a two-out RBI-single to left field, scoring Crumpler to forge a 4-4 tie.

Hofstra scored the decisive run in the top of the eighth when Stern singled up the middle to lead things off and scored on a wild pitch three batters later for the final margin.

Erbe lead off the bottom of the eighth with a single up the middle and would reach third base, but was stranded as Hofstra retired the next three batters.

DeMara, who had come on in the eighth of the nightcap, retired Hofstra in order in the top of the ninth, but Hofstra sophomore right-hander Jeff Denlea (Oyster Bay, NY/St. Dominic) retired the side in order in the bottom of the ninth.

“Both games were great baseball games,” Ikenberry said.

The two teams complete their three-game weekend series with a single game at Patchin Field scheduled for 1:00 pm on Sunday.
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