LEXINGTON, Va.- UNC Asheville battled back from a four-run deficit, scoring 10 runs in the final five innings to earn their first Big South Conference victory of the season, a 13-9 win over VMI Sunday afternoon at Patchin Field. The Bulldogs improve to 5-13 overall and 1-5 in the Big South, while the Keydets fall to 11-11 overall and 2-1 in the Big South.

Senior shortstop Josh Coyle went 3-for-5 with a double and a home run and five RBI on the day to lead UNCA. However, he was just one of four Bulldogs to tally three hits, as Elliott Arrington (3-for-3), Evan Dawson (3-for-5) and Kevin Mattison (3-for-4) teamed with Coyle in helping UNCA to a season-high 19 hits on the afternoon.

"When you score nine runs, you should be able to win the ballgame," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "I think the key to the game was two-out hits. They got them with men on base, and we didn't. They did a good job of pressuring our bullpen in the late innings, and we weren't able to shut them down when we needed to."

Pacing the Keydet offense was junior centerfielder B.T. Good, who went 3-for-5 with a double and a pair of RBI, and Kelly Sweppenhiser, who went 2-for-4 with three RBI. Elliott Erbe, Shane Geisslinger and Matt Smith also notched a pair of hits in the loss.

The Bulldogs got on the scoreboard in the top of the first inning, when Dawson reached base on an error by the second baseman, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Coyle's single to left field brought home Dawson, as the Bulldogs took an early 1-0 lead.

VMI answered in the bottom of the first, when Matt Smith's infield single was followed by a sacrifice bunt by Thane Smith. Sweppenhiser then ran the count full before singling to center field, bringing home Matt Smith from second to tie the contest.

A two-out rally gave the Keydets a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the second. A chopper just inside of the third-base line allowed Good to reach base and was followed by a walk issued to Stephen Parsons. After falling behind in the count 1-2, Geisslinger brought home Good with a single down the right field line.

Asheville came to bat in the third and quickly regained the lead. Three singles to lead off the inning brought home the first run, as Dawson's base knock through the right side of the infield scored Kevin Mattison. Coyle then brought home Tony Campana with a fly ball to center field, giving UNCA a 3-2 lead after two and a half innings.

Once again, VMI fought back to take the lead with three runs in the bottom of the third. Three straight singles left the bases full of Keydets with one out before Good's single to left field scored Erbe. Parsons' single to center field brought home Robert Crumpler, and Geisslinger's fielder's choice scored Klint Reed as the Keydets moved ahead again by a 5-3 margin.

After Josh Owens came on to relieve VMI starter Jimmy Thoms in the fourth inning, he got VMI out of a bases loaded jam by getting Campana to fly out to left field, allowing the Keydets to hold on to their two-run lead.

The home team built on that lead in the bottom of the fourth thanks to a sacrifice fly by Klint Reed and an RBI double by Good to center field that scored Sweppenhiser and Erbe, respectively.

Trailing 7-3 headed to the top of the fifth inning, the Bulldogs cut into the lead thanks to a solo home run by Coyle, his third of the season on a 2-2 pitch from Owens.

In the top of the sixth inning, UNCA tied the contest at seven when a fielder's choice by Campana scored Alan DeRatt, who had earlier reached on a single. After a walk to Dawson, the Keydets brought in Corey Bachman to face Coyle, whose double to left-center field brought home a pair of runs and knotted the score at seven.

In the seventh, Jeff DeMara came on for the Keydets for the 84th time in his career, becoming the new career leader in appearances at VMI. However, the outing did not go well, as the Bulldogs took a 9-7 lead on singles by Arrington, Campana and Dawson, along with a sacrifice bunt laid down by Justin Wilkins and a walk issued to Mattison.

VMI answered in the bottom of the seventh, as Geisslinger's one-out double down the left field line was followed by a four-pitch walk to Matt Smith. Chris Nigro then came on for UNCA, relieving Eric Brotzman, who worked 2.2 innings. Thane Smith laid down a sacrifice bunt that was fielded by the catcher, but his throw pulled Arrington off of the first base bag, loading the bases for the Keydets with only one out. Sweppenhiser then delivered with a two-run single to left field, tying the game at nine. However, the rally was cut short when Erbe grounded into a double play to end the seventh.

But UNCA would not be denied. Charles Pippitt led off the eighth with a single, and then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt laid down by Nathan Durham. Arrington's single to right field was mishandled by the rightfielder, allowing Pippitt to score and putting Arrington on third base. Wilkins' infield single brought home Arrington on the first pitch that he saw, as the Bulldogs' took an 11-9 lead.

The Keydets were retired 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth, as Graham Baughn came on for UNCA. The visitors then tacked on two more runs in the ninth, as Arrington's two-out, two-run single to left field marked the end of the day for DeMara and brought on Trey Barham to retire the final Bulldog of the day.

A single by Matt Smith with two outs was all the Keydets could muster in the bottom of the ninth, as UNCA broke a seven-game losing streak.

UNCA starter Chris White went 3.2 innings and gave up seven runs on 11 hits, striking out two batters and walking four. Brotzman pitched 2.2 innings and gave up two runs on only one hit, striking out a pair and walking a pair. Nigro (1-0) earned the win for the Bulldogs, working only two-thirds of an inning and allowing one hit. Baughn took his first save of the season for UNCA, working the final two innings while allowing only hit and striking out one batter.

VMI starter Jimmy Thoms gave up three runs, two earned, on seven hits in 3.2 innings, striking out five and walking no one. Josh Owens came on to pitch two innings, allowing four runs on three hits, while Corey Bachman allowed one hit while recording one out. DeMara (3-2) took the loss for VMI, allowing six runs on eight hits in 2.2 innings, notching three strikeouts and walking two batters. Trey Barham retired the only batter he faced on five pitches.

The Keydets return to action Tuesday afternoon, when they travel to Norfolk State. First pitch is scheduled at 2 p.m.

GAME NOTES-
*Sunday's loss broke the Keydets' nine-game home winning streak. VMI now stands at 10-3 at Patchin Field this season.

*By taking two of three games against UNC Asheville this weekend, the Keydets scored their first ever Big South Conference series win in their second year in the league.

*Sophomore Robert Crumpler extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a single in the third inning, the longest for a Keydet this season.

*Junior third baseman Kelly Sweppenhiser now leads the team and is tied for second in the Big South with a .430 batting average and 23 RBI, while also leading the team and ranking second in the league with six home runs. He leads the league with 37 hits, 64 total bases, 22 runs scored, nine doubles (tied) and a slugging percentage of .744.

*The Keydets fell to 0-4 when allowing 10 or more runs and 5-10 when committing at least one error.