Keydets Take Game Two Against UNC Asheville 8-7 on Walk-Off Hit By Pitch

Baseball VMIKeydets.com

Keydets Take Game Two Against UNC Asheville 8-7 on Walk-Off Hit By Pitch

LEXINGTON, Va.- Freshman Travis Mulkey was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth inning to bring home the winning run as the VMI baseball team took the second game of a weekend series against UNC Asheville by an 8-7 score in Big South Conference action Saturday afternoon at Patchin Field.

VMI (11-10, 2-0 Big South) won their third straight contest thanks to a ninth inning rally. The Keydets had only one hit in the inning, but were aided by an error, a passed ball, a walk, and the deciding hit batsman. Taking the loss for the Bulldogs (4-13, 0-5 Big South) was Ben Buchanan (2-1), who pitched the final 3.2 innings and gave up two runs, one earned, on three hits, while Jeff DeMara (3-1) worked a perfect ninth inning to earn the win. With the win, VMI assures itself of its first ever Big South Conference series win.

“I can't say enough about the toughness of this team,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We had a lot of guys come through with big at bats today, and we just kept battling. For our guys to scrap out a run in the ninth like they did shows you what this team is made of.”

The Keydets jumped on top early, building a 6-1 lead through the first three innings. In the first, Robert Crumpler's double to left field brought home Jacoby Fields, who had previously walked. The Bulldogs answered in the top of the second, when Alan DeRatt tripled to left field and later scored when Evan Dawson singled to center field.

In the bottom of the second, VMI's B.T. Good reached base when the Bulldogs made the first of six errors on the day, this one a throwing error by the pitcher. Good was then bunted over to second base by Shane Geisslinger, and was driven home three pitches later by Matt Smith, who doubled to right-center field.

The Keydets extended that lead in the third inning, as Elliott Erbe led off the inning with his second triple of the season, this one to right field. Erbe scored two batters later on Klint Reed's sacrifice fly to center field. With two outs and nobody on base, VMI kept the pressure on. Good was hit by a pitch, followed by an error on the shortstop that allowed Stephen Parsons to reach base. Geisslinger then walked to load the bases for Matt Smith, who stroked an 0-2 offering up the middle, driving in two unearned runs with a two-out single. After another walk by Fields loaded the bases, Kelly Sweppenhiser sent a grounder to the shortstop that resulted in another error, scoring Geisslinger for a 6-1 Keydet advantage.

But UNCA answered back in the fourth inning. Nathan Durham's groundout to shortstop brought home Charles Pippitt after he had reached on a leadoff triple to center field. The next four batters of the inning reached base, three on singles and one on a walk, capped by a Kevin Mattison single through the right side of the infield that brought home Tony Wall. A groundball to third base resulted in DeRatt being thrown out at home for two outs, and the Keydets appeared to be out of the inning when John Whited sent a fly ball to center field. However, Good had the ball come out of his glove, as the Bulldogs brought home three unearned runs and tied the contest at six after three and a half innings.

The Bulldogs pulled ahead in the sixth inning, however, were only able to score one run as VMI starter J.J. Hollenbeck pitched his way out of a bases-loaded, no-out jam. After allowing three singles to start out the sixth inning, a groundout to the shortstop by Tony Campana brought home DeRatt and gave UNCA the 7-6 lead. However, Dawson was picked off of third base for the second out of the inning, then a ground out to the third baseman allowed VMI to escape while trailing by only one run.

“J.J's a competitor out there,” said Ikenberry. “We've been talking to our staff about eliminating big innings, and that's exactly what he did. J.J's a guy who always makes pitches at game time, and he did a great job out there today.”

But the Keydets wouldn't trail for long. After Buchanan came on to relieve UNCA starter Tim Johnson to start the bottom of the sixth inning, Good sent a 2-2 pitch beyond the wall in left field for a two-out home run, his first of the season that tied the game at seven after six innings.

“It was great to see B.T. come back after misplaying that ball in center field,” said Ikenberry. “He had that big solo home run to tie the game in the sixth after we fell behind for the first time all day.”

After Hollenbeck got the leadoff man in the seventh inning to line out to the shortstop, he was relieved by Josh Owens. On the day, Hollenbeck pitched 6.1 innings, allowing seven runs, only four earned, while giving up 11 hits, striking out three and walking one and taking a no decision.

Owens came on to hold the Bulldogs at bay over the next two innings, as he allowed only two hits while striking out two batters in the seventh and eighth innings. Meanwhile, the Keydets could only manage one hit in the seventh and eighth innings, setting the stage for an exciting ninth inning rally.

DeMara came on in the ninth for the Keydets for the 83rd time in his career, tying the career mark for appearances at VMI. The only other change for the Keydets in the top of the ninth was Travis Mulkey going in to play left field, a move that would come out big later in the inning. DeMara retired all three batters he faced, one by strikeout, as the game went to the bottom of the ninth tied.

“Our bullpen did a great job of holding them in the late innings,” said Ikenberry. “It's a great luxury to have guys that you can rely on in the late innings of a game like this.”

Once again, it was Good who got the Keydets going, as he singled down the left field line on the first pitch that he saw with one out in the inning. Parsons reached on an error by the rightfielder, then advanced to second base on a passed ball that also sent Good to third base.

Geisslinger worked the count full before drawing a walk, loading the bases with one out for Matt Smith. Smith then fouled out to the third baseman, setting the stage for Mulkey to come to bat with the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning. On an 0-1 count, Buchanan came inside to Mulkey and hit him in the left elbow, driving in Good with the winning run, the Keydets' fifth unearned run of the day.

Matt Smith led the Keydet offense on the day, going 3-for-6 with a double and three RBI, while B.T. Good went 2-for-4 with four runs scored and an RBI.

“Matt Smith had a big day for us offensively,” said Ikenberry. “All of our guys did a great job of putting pressure on their pitching staff and defense all day today.”

UNCA starter Tim Johnson worked 5.0 innings, allowing six runs, only two earned, and five hits while striking out four and issuing six walks.

The Bulldogs' seventh and eighth hitters did most of the damage, as both Evan Dawson and Kevin Mattison finished 3-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI. Alan DeRatt finished 2-for-3 with a triple and a pair of runs scored, while Tony Wall went 2-for-4 with a run scored.

The Keydets and Bulldogs return to action Sunday afternoon, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m. at Patchin Field in the final contest of the three-game weekend series.
Print Friendly Version