LEXINGTON, Va.- VMI fell behind 3-0 in the early innings, but a six-run second frame gave the Keydets the lead for good, as they claimed a 15-9 victory over in-state rival Richmond on Wednesday afternoon at Patchin Field.
Sophomore second baseman Shane Geisslinger (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) stole what is believed to be a school-record five bases in the game that saw all nine Keydet starters claim hits in the game's first four innings. VMI improves to 22-12 with the win, while Richmond falls to 10-22.
“The middle of our lineup did a great job today,” remarked VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We were very aggressive on the bases today and put a lot of pressure on them to make plays. I thought our pitching was adequate, it was great to see Chris Henderson get back out there and look strong. This is another great in-state win for us.”
The Keydets' 2-3-4 hitters combined to go 8-for-14 on the day, led by Jacoby Fields' four-hit day. Fields collected three singles and his first home run of the season, a three-run shot in the second inning to put VMI up 6-3. Robert Crumpler went 3-for-6 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Kelly Sweppenhiser reached base in five of his six plate appearances, thanks to a two-run homer in the fourth, three walks and a hit by pitch.
Earning the win in relief in his first appearance in a month-and-a-half was Chris Henderson (1-0). Henderson relieved John Phelps in the fourth inning and allowed only a two-run home run in the sixth inning in his three frames of work. Taking the loss for UR was Josh Horn (0-1), who was charged with nine runs on 11 hits in 3.2 innings.
Pacing the Spider offensive attack was Vince Riggi from the sixth-spot in the order, as he collected a single, double and home run in his five at-bats, driving in four runs in the process. Joe Mahoney and Andrew Justice also had multiple hits on the day, as they each went 2-for-5.
The Spiders moved on top in the first inning, as Joe Mahoney plated Alex Wotring with his base knock to right-center field. Three batters later, Mahoney scored himself thanks to Vince Riggi's single through the right-side of the infield. A solo home run from Ben Zeskind in the second inning put UR on top by a 3-0 tally.
But the Keydets would respond in the bottom of the second inning. Chad Rice brought home the first run of the frame on his single through the left-side of the infield, before a Crumpler single on a 3-0 count two batters later knotted the game at three. The next pitch was to Fields, who slugged his first roundtripper of the season, a three-run shot to left field.
VMI built on that lead in the middle innings, scoring three more in the fourth with two of those coming on Sweppenhiser's fifth homer of the season. An unearned run came across in the fifth for VMI on a throwing error on a steal attempt by Geisslinger at third base, making the advantage 10-3 at the end of five innings.
UR responded with a two-spot in the sixth, thanks to Riggi's first bomb of the season that cut the score to 10-5. But the hosts made the Spiders pay for three consecutive walks by Wyatt Stewart in the bottom of the sixth, as a walk, a sacrifice fly and fielder's choice each accounted for VMI RBI's, making the Keydet advantage 13-5 through six innings.
Crumpler and Fields each scored in the seventh inning to push the margin to 15-5, with Crumpler coming around on B.T. Good's base knock and Fields coming in on a wild pitch charged to Benji Marshall.
The Spiders put up four runs in the eighth, with an RBI double by Riggi and a groundout by Anthony Sandstrom accounting for the first two runs, followed by a two-run double from Matt McKenna to wrap up the scoring.
Meanwhile, Geisslinger accounted for five of the team's eight stolen bases in eight attempts. Geisslinger stole second base in the fourth inning following a single on a check-swing, then stole second and third base in the fifth inning following his walk. He then proceeded to swipe second base again in the sixth and steal third base in the eighth inning to complete his record-setting day.
The Keydets return to action on Friday afternoon, as they host Radford in the first game of a Big South Conference weekend series. First pitch is slated for 3 p.m. at Patchin Field for Friday's game, while Saturday's doubleheader has been moved up to a Noon start.
