LEXINGTON, Va.- For the second time this season, the VMI baseball team put up nine runs in an inning, and in doing so, won their fourth straight contest and fifth out of their last six with a 16-7 non-conference victory over Georgetown in the team's home finale Tuesday afternoon at Patchin Field.

The win is the Keydets' 25th of the season, tying a school record established in 2003. The team now sits at 25-25 overall and 9-12 in the Big South, while Georgetown falls to 25-28 and 7-15 in the Big East.

Every VMI starter recorded a hit in the contest, paced by three-hit efforts from freshman leftfielder Klint Reed (Chesterfield, Va./L.C. Bird), junior centerfielder B.T. Good (Vienna, Va./James Madison) and junior third baseman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa./Line Mountain). Sweppenhiser slugged his 12th home run of the season, drove in three runs and stole a pair of bases while raising his batting average to .393. The 16-run output by the Keydets marks their best offensive output in two months, since putting up 23 against UNC Asheville on March 18 in the team's Big South opener.

After allowing four runs in the first inning, freshman Trey Barham (Portsmouth, Va./Greenbrier Christian Academy) settled down on the mound for VMI and notched his second win of the season. Barham was the first of four VMI pitchers and worked five-plus innings, allowing five runs on six hits, striking out five while walking only two in his third start of the season.

"Trey Barham did a great job after the first inning of settling down out there on the mound," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "Corey Bachman got into a little bit of trouble in the sixth inning, but Jacoby Fields was able to come in and get us out of that. Will Paulette then came in and did a nice job of throwing strikes against the middle of their lineup to wrap up the game for us. Our guys again did a good job of battling back after getting down 4-0, they're feeling real good offensively right now. We've got a big weekend ahead, hopefully we can keep it up."

After sophomore Corey Bachman ran into trouble in the sixth, sophomore Jacoby Fields came on to retire the first five batters he faced before giving up a base knock with one out in the Georgetown eighth. However, the next batter he faced sent the first pitch he saw back up the middle, striking Fields in the head before he could recover to stop the ball. After laying on the ground for a few moments, Fields walked off under his own power, giving way to senior Will Paulette on the mound, who surrendered only one hit while recording the final five outs of the ballgame.

For the fourth straight contest, the Keydets fell behind early, this time thanks to a four-run first inning by the Hoyas. After Barham retired the game's first two batters with ease, a bases-loaded double by sophomore leftfielder Mark McLaughlin cleared the bases, while a double two pitches later by sophomore third baseman Joseph Graziano brought McLaughlin around to put the Keydets in an early hole.

VMI tried to respond in the first inning, as leadoff hitter Matt Smith walked, then came around to third base on a pair of wild pitches. Smith then scored on a single by Reed, but that's all the home team could muster, as Reed was caught stealing at third base before Georgetown starter Mark Dutmers recored a pair of strikeouts to end the rally.

Both pitchers settled down over the next few innings, until VMI struck in the fourth inning. In all, seven hits and an error brought home nine runs, highlighted by a leadoff double by Good, a two-run double by Matt Smith, an RBI triple by sophomore Chad Rice and RBI singles by Chase Buchanan, Robert Crumpler and Elliott Erbe. In all, the Keydets brought 13 men to the plate and left only one of them on base, while each of the runs were earned, despite a throwing error on the leftfielder late in the rally.

After Barham came back out and allowed only one hit in the Georgetown fifth inning, the VMI bats went back to work, as a leadoff single by Matt Smith and a walk by Reed set the table for Sweppenhiser's blast, a three-run shot to left field to push the VMI margin to 13-4.

From there, each team would put up a three-spot, as the Hoyas did so in the sixth, when freshman Matt Bouchard hit his first home run of the season, a three-run shot down the left field line. VMI did their damage in the seventh inning, when a triple by Good brought home a pair of runs before a single by Erbe brought Good home in the next at bat.

Earning the loss for the Hoyas was Dutmers (0-2), who worked three-plus innings, allowing six runs on six hits, walking four while striking out only two Keydets. Dutmers was the first of five GU pitchers, who were playing their fourth contest in three days thanks to a postponement of their Big East Conference contest against Rutgers on Saturday that was played on Monday in Washington D.C.

Three Hoyas had a pair of hits in the game, including McLaughlin, Graziano and senior Andrew Cleary. McLaughlin had his 12th double of the season while driving in three runs, while Bouchard also drove in three with his homer.

Six of the VMI nine starters recorded multiple hits, while five Keydets had multiple RBI on the day. Matt Smith, Reed, Good and Erbe each brought home two runs, while Sweppenhiser paced the team once again with his three RBI day.

The Keydets will look to break the school record for single-season wins and secure a spot in the Bojangle's Big South Conference Baseball Championship this weekend, when they travel to Radford. One win would do both for the Keydets, while it is still possible for VMI to climb as high as a fourth-seed in the six-team tournament, to be held next week in Conway, S.C. First pitch for Friday's series opener at Radford is scheduled for 4 p.m., and fans can follow all the game action on www.vmikeydets.com or on WREL 1450 AM, as Wade Branner provides the play-by-play.