Game Photos 1 I Game Photos 2

LEXINGTON, Va.- A three-run homer by Chad Rice gave VMI the lead for good in a 7-6 win in game one of a weekend series against Lafayette on Saturday at Patchin Field. Game two of the scheduled doubleheader was suspended due to darkness in the top of the ninth inning with VMI leading 5-4. The contest will be continued at 1 p.m. on Sunday afternoon.

Game one was a nip-and-tuck affair, with the Keydets (6-3) twice fighting back to take the lead in the middle innings. VMI starter Trey Barham went 5.2 innings while striking out eight batters, both career highs. He allowed five runs, four earned, on eight hits while walking only one before being relieved by freshman Michael Bowman (2-0), who earned his second win of the season in relief. Bowman worked 2.1 innings, allowing one three hits and an unearned run, before Ian Casher and Travis Smink combined to work the ninth, as Smink earned his first save by striking out the only batter he faced.

"Trey did a nice job for us, going 5.2 innings and getting eight punchouts," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "He kept us in the game and allowed us to come back and take the lead. And Bowman, Casher and Smink all did very nice jobs out of the bullpen to get us the win in game one."

The hosts only pounded out seven hits, but took advantage of a pair of Leopard errors to push across a pair of unearned runs. Earning the season-opening loss for Lafayette was Steve Roberts (0-1), who worked the final three innings, allowing four runs, three earned, as he relieved starter Matt Revelle, who worked five innings, allowing four hits and three runs.

Claiming multi-hit days for the Keydets were outfielders Klint Reed and Jacoby Fields, who each went 2-for-4 with a double. Rice's three-run shot over the left-field wall represented the only Keydet to bring home multiple runs on the day.

Meanwhile, the middle of the Leopard lineup was getting it done, as cleanup man Mike Raible went 2-for-4, along with Tom Ambrosole, who went 3-for-4 with a double. Three of the team's four RBIs of the day for Lafayette came from Tom Hayes, who went 2-for-3 with a double.

The Leopards struck first in the second inning, as Hayes brought home both Raible and Ambrosole with his one-out single up the middle. The Keydets quickly answered as B.T. Good was hit by a pitch, went to third on a double by Fields before scoring on a sac fly by A.J. Yoder.

Single runs in the fourth and fifth innings gave VMI the lead, despite having only one base hit in the two innings combined. However, Revelle walked three batters, hit two batters and was charged with a throwing error to account for the pair of runs.

The visitors would respond in the sixth, pushing across three runs to take a 5-3 lead. Following three singles to load the bases, Barham's wild pitch scored one run, before a sac fly scored a second. One of Tyler Zeronda's three singles of the day brought home the final run of the inning, giving the Leopards a two-run advantage.

Rice's first home run of the year made the score 6-5 in favor of the Keydets, while a two-base error moved Klint Reed into scoring position a batter later. He then moved to third base on a wild pitch before scoring on Sweppenhiser's groundout to shortstop.

Bowman retired the Leopards 1-2-3 in both the seventh and eighth innings before running into trouble in the ninth. A leadoff double by Hayes started the rally, while another single by Zeronda moved Hayes to third. Casher then entered the game and walked the first batter he faced, while an errant throw by the catcher to second base on ball four brought home Hayes to make it a one-run game. A caught stealing provided the inning's first out, while a sharp grounder to third base that was snared by A.J. Yoder provided the second. Smink then entered the contest to preserve the win, doing so with a swinging strikeout.

The continuation of Saturday's second contest is scheduled to begin in the top of the ninth inning on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. That will be followed by game three of the weekend set, as VMI is scheduled to send out freshman right Chris Henderson (0-0) versus Lafayette junior lefty Matt Kamine.