HIGH POINT, N.C.- A ten-hit effort by the VMI offense combined with an impressive outing by starter Trey Barham to end the Keydets' six-game losing streak by a 9-2 margin over High Point Sunday afternoon at Erath Field.
VMI (21-12, 3-6 Big South) got 7.1 innings from starter Trey Barham (5-2), who surrendered only a seventh-inning tally to HPU (17-21, 8-4 Big South). Barham scattered seven hits while walking four, as he left the game with a 7-1 lead in the eighth inning. Reliever Ian Casher worked the final 1.2 innings, giving up two hits, one a home run by Ryan Laboy.
In one of their most productive outings of the season, the Keydets stranded only five men on the day, earning four walks and two hit batsmen in addition to their ten hits. HPU starter Tom Boleska (2-6) was tagged with the loss, surrendering six runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings.
“Our guys did a great job today of being focused,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We got beat on Friday, and yesterday we dropped a heartbreaker, but today we did a good job of coming out and staying focused in our at bats. I was really pleased with our performance, we've got a lot of young guys and it was good to see them bounce back. I told the guys we were so close to taking two out of three from these guys, and I think we have everybody focused on the same goals now. Trey Barham gave us an outstanding effort today, the kind of outing we look for out of him. When the top of our lineup gets on base like they did today, we have the ability to score a lot of runs.”
The Keydets struck first, putting up single runs in the first and second innings before a four-run third inning blew the game wide open. RBI groundouts in the opening innings by Jacoby Fields and A.J. Yoder gave the visitors the early 2-0 lead. A pair of errors in the third inning helped lead to the big inning, as three of the four tallies were unearned.
A leadoff single by Chad Rice was followed by a fielder's choice to second base hit by Kelly Sweppenhiser. However, a charging Dustin Holtzman threw the ball into leftfield, as Rice went to third base on the throw. A walk issued to Robert Crumpler loaded the bases, setting the stage for Fields' two-run single to left-center field.
Boleska settled in to retire the next two batters, bringing up B.T. Good with a pair of runners on. On a 2-1 count, Good unleashed a two-run triple to right-centerfield, giving the Keydets a 6-1 advantage.
Both pitchers settled in over the next few innings, putting up zeroes in the three middle innings. VMI broke that string in the top of the seventh, as Rice came around to score following his leadoff walk on a sacrifice fly by Fields.
The shutout came to an end for Barham in the bottom of the seventh, when Ryan Laboy singled, moved to second base on a fielder's choice, then scored on Jeff Cowan's base knock to centerfield.
The Keydets would tack on two more in the ninth, off of Mark Shorey, as the second hit batsman of the inning brought home the first run, followed by a double play that scored Rice with his third run of the day. The solo home run by Laboy off of Casher accounted for the final run of the game.
Pacing the VMI offense on the day was Kelly Sweppenhiser, who went 3-for-4 with a pair of runs scored, while Chad Rice (2-for-3) scored three runs and Jacoby Fields (2-for-4) brought home four runs. Three Panthers had two-hit days, including Cowan, Shorey and Laboy.
The Keydets return to action on Wednesday afternoon, as they host Richmond on Wednesday afternoon at Patchin Field.
