Liberty Rallies For 9-5 Victory over VMI in Series Opener

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Liberty Rallies For 9-5 Victory over VMI in Series Opener

LEXINGTON, Va.- Liberty pounded out four home runs, including two from junior second baseman Chad Miller, as the Flames handed VMI a 9-5 loss in the opener of a Big South Conference series Saturday afternoon at Patchin Field.

The Keydets (20-23, 5-11 Big South) jumped on top early, but couldn't hold off the Flames (24-15, 8-8 Big South), who moved into fourth place in the league standings with the win. For the second straight contest, VMI stranded 15 men, leaving the bases loaded in each of the first two innings while leaving at least one runner on base in seven different frames.

Earning the win for Liberty was freshman reliever Ryan Page (Cranberry Township, Pa./Senca Valley), who improved to 2-2 after working 3.2 innings of relief, allowing six hits but only one run while striking out four. VMI senior starter Jimmy Thoms (Newport News, Va./Denbigh) took the loss to fall to 5-5 on the season, allowing seven runs on 10 hits while striking out only two. Liberty closer Phil Thompson (Ringold, Va./Dann River) picked up his fourth save of the season by recording the final out of the game.

Liberty freshman first baseman Aaron Grijalva paced the Flame attack with three hits, while Miller was one of four Flames to record a pair of hits. For VMI, Matt Smith, Kelly Sweppenhiser, Robert Crumpler and Thane Smith each had a pair of hits, with Sweppenhiser and Matt Smith recording the Keydets' only extra-base hits of the ball game, each with doubles.

The visitors jumped on top with a two-spot in the top of the first inning, thanks to a single by Grijalva followed by a home run to left field by Phillip Laurent. The Keydets answered in their half of the opening frame, when B.T. Good was hit with the first pitch that he saw, bringing home Sweppenhiser, who doubled on an 0-2 count down the left field line. However, that was all that the home team could manage, leaving the bases loaded as Jacoby Fields hit a high chopper just in front of home plate to end the inning.

VMI took a 4-2 lead in the second inning, again with some help from the mound, as Liberty starter Michael Solbach hit a batter, walked a batter, made an error and threw a run-scoring wild pitch. The inning got started with a leadoff single by catcher Chase Buchanan, his third base-hit of the season, and was followed by an error on a sacrifice bunt that allowed Shane Geisslinger to reach first base. After a successful sacrifice moved each runner up a base, Sweppenhiser hit an RBI single to center field for his second hit of the game. The next pitch would go all the way to the backstop, allowing Geisslinger to score. Two batters later, Good was again hit by a pitch with the bases loaded. Just like the first inning though, that is where the rally ended, as the bases were full of Keydets as the third out was recorded on a groundball to shortstop by Fields.

The Keydets tacked on another run in the fourth, jumping ahead 5-2 when Fields singled to left field, scoring Crumpler who had reached with a leadoff single to centerfield. But that lead would not last for long, as Liberty came back with a three-spot in the fifth, tying the ball game thanks to a leadoff single by Phillip John, followed by a two-run shot by Patrick Gaillard to left field. Three pitches later, Miller hit his first home run of the season, tying the game at five.

The seventh inning spelled disaster for the Keydets, as Miller led off the frame with his second bomb of the day on a 1-0 pitch, followed two batters later with a double to the right-centerfield gap. Senior reliever Josh Owens then took the mound for the Keys, and proceeded to walk the first batter he faced on four pitches before giving up an RBI single to Jeff Brown. Two pitches later, P.K. Keller capped the scoring with a two-run double down the left field line, bringing the score to the final margin of 9-5.

From there, the bullpens took over, as Liberty reliever Tim John came on in the bottom of the seventh after a double by Matt Smith and shut down the Keydets, allowing no hits while walking only two men in 2.1 innings of work. He recorded two outs in the ninth inning before Thompson came on to record the final out of the game. On the other side, Owens settled down to hold deny the Flames in the eighth inning, while closer Jeff DeMara struck out all three batters he faced in the top of the ninth in his 26th appearance of the season.

The Flames and Keydets will wrap up the weekend series with a doubleheader Sunday afternoon with first pitch scheduled for noon at Patchin Field.
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