LEXINGTON, Va.- The 2006 VMI baseball team wasted no time showing their home fans what all the fuss was about, pounding out 22 hits while a pair of freshmen pitchers combined to stifle Coppin State's bats in a 21-4 win Friday afternoon at Patchin Field in the team's home opener. The win marks the third straight season the team has opened their home slate with a victory.
After playing their first six games of the year on the road, the Keydets (4-3) returned home to set season highs in runs scored and hits while no less than seven players recorded multiple hits. Leading that charge was B.T. Good's 4-for-4 performance, while Klint Reed continued his tear, going 4-for-5 with a double and five RBI, raising his batting average to .467. Freshman A.J. Yoder, making his first start at second base, also went 4-for-5 with a two-run triple and three runs scored.
On the mound, VMI starter John Phelps ran into trouble in the first and fourth innings, giving up a pair of runs in each inning. He lasted four innings, surrendering five hits and four runs while walking two. He was relieved in the fifth inning by Michael Bowman (1-0), who earned his first win by allowing only three hits in five innings, striking out five while walking two.
“It's always good to get the first home game out of the way, this week has been really stressful in trying to get the field ready and getting our guys prepared to play,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “I thought that Phelps was a little nervous in the first inning, but he settled in to pitch four strong. Early on, I probably would've let him go out and pitch the fifth, but he reached his pitch count limit and I felt like his outing was a pretty solid one. Bowman did a nice job of coming on in the fifth and recording his first win. It was really nice to see him come in and throw five strong, I was really impressed with his outing. It's good for the young arms to get out there and get some extended innings early.”
The Eagles (0-5-1) struck first, as a one out double by first baseman Ryan Deakyne brought home the first run, while a sac fly by Teon Richburg gave Coppin the early 2-0 advantage.
The Keydets would respond immediately, as four singles evened the score at two. Chad Rice and Reed started the frame off with base knocks, while Jacoby Fields' single up the middle brought home Rice. Michael Roberts then earned the first of his three RBI with a sac fly, plating Kelly Sweppenhiser to knot the game at two.
Phelps settled down in the second, retiring the Eagles in order, but the Keydets would not go so quietly. The hosts batted around in the second, taking a 7-2 lead thanks to an error and five hits, with the biggest of those coming from Fields, as his two-out triple to center field extended the inning and the rally.
In the third, the Keydets pushed across their eighth run with some small ball, as Rice earned a two-out walk, moved to second on a wild pitch, then scored on Reed's single to center field.
Trailing 8-2, Coppin doubled their run total on an RBI double by Corey Greene and an RBI fielder's choice by Carlos DeCosta. However, 8-4 was the closest the Eagles would come the rest of the way, as an eight-run fifth inning by VMI put the game out of reach.
In the fifth, VMI sent 12 men to the plate, scoring eight runs on only five hits, aided by two hit batters, two walks, a balk and a wild pitch. Coppin pitcher Tommy Stratchko was relieved after facing ten batters in the inning, as he was charged with nine runs on six hits in his 2.2 innings of work. Big hits for the Keydets in the fifth included a triple by Yoder, a double by Klint Reed and singles by Sweppenhiser, Roberts and Yoder.
In the seventh inning, VMI batted around for the third time, plating five runs on five hits. For the day, VMI scored in five of the eight innings they batted in, scoring five or more runs in three innings.
“B.T. really came through and got on base for us hitting out of the six-hole, and let our 7-8-9 guys extend rallies,” said Ikenberry. “A.J. Yoder had unbelievable at bats all day, and Klint Reed did too. I thought the biggest at bat of the day that really broke things open was Jacoby Fields' in the second inning, when he hit that triple to open it up. We caught the baseball really well today, I always like to see that. When we throw strikes and catch the baseball we're going to have our opponents not score a lot of runs. I was really impressed with our overall effort after going out on the road then coming home and not being able to get out on the field for a couple days because it was too wet and getting it ready for this weekend. It just showed our focus and where our guys are at in playing games.”
Coppin starter Dennis Lane (0-2) took the loss, surrendering seven runs, five earned, on nine hits in two innings of work. Other Eagle relievers included Kalif Person's two and a third inning appearance while Paul Ramirez worked the eighth, allowing only one hit.
Saturday's game, scheduled for a 1 p.m. start, has been pushed back to 2 p.m. The Keydets will look for their third straight victory, as they will start sophomore southpaw Trey Barham (0-1) in the second contest of the series.
