LEXINGTON, Va.- Senior Duke Acors threw 6.1 innings of shutout baseball in the first contest and the VMI bats exploded for a season-high 18 runs in the second game as the Keydets took both ends of a doubleheader against Navy Sunday afternoon in non-conference baseball action at Patchin Field, 4-0 and 18-5.

In the first contest, the Keydets (7-7) had three pitchers combine for the team's first shutout of the season, while the VMI bats did the damage in the second contest, coming from behind to even their record at .500 for the first time this season.

"I was really proud of our guys efforts today," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "Duke came out in the first game and did a great job of commanding the strike zone, it was good to see him get a win, he's been pitching well for us. Then our bullpen came out and did a great job finishing off the game, with Josh Owens and Jeff DeMara nailing it down. We were a little erratic mentally in the first game, but I think that's just because our guys have been so focused on working on the field to get it ready for these games, we haven't been focusing on baseball. But our guys came out in the second game, fell behind early, then battled back to win the game."

In the opener, the Keydets and Midshipmen (3-5-1) battled through the first three innings scoreless, until junior Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa./Line Mountain) led off the fourth with a home run, his third of the season, to right field.

The Keydets built a 2-0 lead in the sixth inning, when junior B.T. Good (Vienna, Va./James Madison) singled up the middle to score senior Elliott Erbe (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch), who had earlier reached on a throwing error by the second baseman.

Senior Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge) then led off the seventh inning with a home run of his own down the right field line for his first collegiate home run. In the bottom of the eighth, sophomore Robert Crumpler (Suffolk, Va./Nansemond-Suffolk) gave VMI a 4-0 lead when he scored on an unearned run after another hit by Good.

But the story of the first game was Acors, who worked himself out of jams in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Acors was relieved after recording one out in the seventh inning, allowing five hits in 6.1 innings of work, striking out eight while walking only two. Owens (Sandston, Va./Benedictine) came on for 1.2 innings and allowed only one hit while striking out two. Coming in to close out the game was DeMara (Chesapeake, Va./Great Bridge), who worked the ninth and allowed only one hit while striking out one batter.

Earning the loss for Navy was Daniel Kovalcik (Westwood, Mass.), who gave up only one run in 4.1 innings of work on four hits. Jeff Lange (Springfield, Va.) gave up the other three runs on three hits, while Kevin Heasley (Cincinnati, Ohio) worked a scoreless eighth inning, allowing only one hit.

In game two, the Keydets fell behind early as Navy put up a three-spot in the second inning and a two-spot in the third to stake an early 5-0 lead. In the second, an RBI single by D.J. Faldowski (Washington, Pa.) brought home the first run, while a two-run single by Rendaldo Hollins (Virginia Beach, Va.) plated the other two runs.

In the third, Jared Munde's (Rolling Hills Estates, Calif.) infield single brought home the fourth run of the game for Navy, then a triple by J.P. Temperelli (Houston, Texas) gave the Mids a 5-0 lead.

The VMI bats got going in the third, as they wrung up 18 unanswered runs to close out the game. VMI's four-run third inning was highlighted by a two-run single by sophomore Jacoby Fields (Prince George, Va./Prince George), an RBI double down the left field line by Sweppenhiser and an RBI single by Erbe.

VMI took the lead for good in the fifth, when a three-run homer by Erbe was followed by a solo shot by sophomore Thane Smith (Virginia Beach, Va./First Colonial). Freshman Stephen Parsons (Chesapeake, Va./Hickory) then plated Good as the Keydets took a 9-5 lead after five innings.

That is how it would stay until the bottom of the eighth, when the Keydets led off the inning with their first 10 batters reaching base on their way to a nine-run inning.

In the second contest, freshman Trey Barham (Portsmouth, Va./Greenbrier Christian Academy) earned the win, pitching three innings in relief, allowing only two runs on five hits while striking out two. Barham relieved junior J.J. Hollenbeck (Madison, Va./James Madison), who worked the first two innings, allowing three runs on four hits while also striking out two.

Sophomore Corey Bachman (Dillsburg, Pa./Northern) worked three innings as well for VMI, allowing only two hits while striking out five, and sophomore John Goode (Winchester, Va./James Wood) came on in the ninth for the Keydets, striking out two of the three batters he faced to seal the win.

Burgess Nichols (Boston, Mass.) took the loss for Navy in game two, giving up nine earned runs on 12 hits in only 4.2 innings pitched. James Lee (Asheville, N.C.) came on in the fifth, working 2.1 innings while not allowing a run on two hits. Mitchell Harris (Mt. Holly, N.C.) then moved took over on the mound, moving from first base to start the eighth inning, and allowed six earned runs without recording an out, before Rob Molinaro (Middleton, N.J.) closed out the inning, allowing three more runs on three hits.

Leading the Keydets in hitting on the day was Good, who went 4-for-6 with an RBI and three runs scored, and Sweppenhiser, who went 6-of-10 with two doubles, a home run, three RBI and four runs scored. Parsons and Erbe each drove in four runs on the day for VMI, while Parsons also had a pair of doubles while hitting 5-for-9 in the twinbill.

The Keydets return to action Monday afternoon, in a single contest against Fairfield University. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Patchin Field.