LEXINGTON, Va.? At long last, the VMI baseball team opened Gray-Minor Stadium in style, collecting a 10-2 victory against Bucknell on Tuesday afternoon. The mid-week contest was scheduled after a three-game series between the teams was cancelled last weekend due to inclement weather in the area.
Junior Thane Smith, returning to the diamond for the first time since redshirting last season, led the way for the Keydet offense, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and a home run, while junior Trey Barham improved to 2-0 on the mound by allowing only one run in five innings in his second start of the season. Senior Corey Bachman also collected his second career save, allowing only two hits and one run over the final four innings to secure the win.
“First off, I want to thank all of the support staff, the Physical Plant and our players for helping to get this first game underway,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry following the win. “It was a great night and I was really proud of how our kids played after having to do everything they did to get the field ready. It took a lot of people to make it work, and I want them all to know that we appreciate their efforts.
“Trey Barham pitched well for us today. He got to his pitch count in five innings, and we were satisfied with his outing. He did a good job of keeping their hitters off-balance, and once he gets more comfortable out there, he'll pitch to contact more. Corey Bachman continues to do a great job for us out of the bullpen. He did a great job of maintaining his composure and settling in after giving up a run in his first inning of work, and I was proud of how they competed and threw the ball in the strike zone.”
Bucknell (0-1) was led offensively by senior Dustin Kapson (2-for-3, RBI), senior Ryan Gryskevicz (2-for-3, 2B) and junior Jason Buursma (2-for-4, RBI) in their first game of the season, while senior starter Matt Curry took the loss, allowing two runs, one earned in four innings while striking out six.
Despite not playing for eight days, the Keydets (3-1) continued on the momentum generated by taking two of three at the University of Florida two weekends ago. VMI did not commit an error in the contest, while generating baserunners in each of the first seven innings. Offensively for VMI, A.J. Yoder (2-for-4, 2 runs), Michael Roberts (2-for-4, RBI), and Ryan Litz (2-for-3, RBI) joined Smith with multiple hit days, while Eddie Van Es and Justin Hess accounted for the multiple-RBI outings for the Keydets.
“It felt like game one again because of the week and a half layoff,” said Ikenberry. “But I thought that our kids played hard tonight, which is good to see when playing your first home game. In the first few innings, their pitcher (Curry) was on cruise control. Then, once we got a couple innings in, we started getting good swings off of him. We took the lead and did a good job of expanding that lead over the next few innings. I also thought we did a great job of catching the baseball. We played great defense the entire game, and in particular the 5-4-3 double play to end the fifth inning for Trey was a great job by our infield defense.”
Barham took the honor of hurling the first pitch at Gray-Minor Stadium, tossing a ball high to the Bucknell leadoff man Dan Grandizio at 3:07 p.m. After inducing Grandizio into a groundball back to the pitcher, Barham struck out each of the next two batters to retire the side.
The Keydets put a pair of baserunners on in their half of the first, as senior Robert Crumpler was hit by a pitch before Yoder stroked a double down the line to put a pair of runners into scoring position. But Curry responded with his second strikeout of the inning, leaving the game scoreless after one.
The Bison grabbed the lead in the second, as Buursma collected an infield hit and advanced to second during a rundown between second and third base of Gryskevicz. He then scored on Kapson's single to rightfield to plate the game's first run. A pair of baserunners went for naught for the Keydets in their half of the second frame.
But the home team responded in the third, as Smith led off the frame with a double high off of the centerfield wall, then came around to score on a double to the right-centerfield wall by Roberts three batters later. As Barham continued to mow down the Bison in the top of the fourth, the Keydets took the lead on an unearned run in the bottom of the fourth, as Shane Geisslinger scored on Chad Rice's single to centerfield after reaching on an error by the shortstop.
Bucknell threatened in the fifth, as Kapson's one-out single up the middle was followed by a walk issued to Sean Hirsch. But a well-executed, around-the-horn double play got Barham out of the inning with a 2-1 lead.
VMI expanded that lead dramatically over the next few innings, beginning with a pair of runs in the fifth, as freshmen Hess and Litz plated Roberts and Van Es off of Bucknell reliever Andy Campbell. The Bison responded with a run off of Bachman in his first inning of work, after Chris Pieper drew a two-out walk, advanced to third base on Gryskevicz's single and scored on Buursma's base knock through the left-side of the infield.
The Keydets quickly answered that run, as Smith led off the sixth inning with his third career home run, but the rally did not end there. Two batters later, Yoder drew a walk, followed by a Roberts double to leave two runners in scoring position for Van Es, who brought home Yoder with a groundout to the first baseman. Hess next plated Roberts with a single up the middle, marking his first multiple RBI game as a Keydet, advancing the lead to 7-2.
After giving up the two hits and run in the sixth inning, Bachman did not allow another baserunner the rest of the way, while striking out a pair of batters in the eighth. However, VMI was not done offensively, as a three-run rally in the seventh brought final margin to 10-2. In the inning, a double steal, a bases-loaded hit batsman and an infield single brought home the three tallies.
“Overall, I was impressed with how we put together some runs today off of their staff,” said Ikenberry. “Thane Smith hasn't played in a year and a half and did a great job of getting us going offensively. Crumpler hit some balls hard at people, and Shane Geisslinger may have gone 0-for-3, but he was on base in four of his five plate appearances. Everybody just pitched in today, and it was really a special way to break in our new home here at Gray-Minor Stadium.”
The Keydets return to action quickly, as they travel to Richmond to take on the Spiders in a 2:30 p.m. start on Wednesday afternoon at Pitt Field. They will then return home to host Niagara in a weekend series, beginning on Friday afternoon at 3 p.m. The Bison will take on Virginia this weekend in Charlottesville, with the first game of the weekend series set for 4 p.m. at Davenport Field.
