ROCK HILL, S.C.? Reigning Big South Freshman of the Year Alex Wilson was the story of the night in game one of a Big South series between Winthrop and VMI, as the sophomore righthander notched 14 strikeouts to collect his first win of the season as the Eagles claimed a 4-2 victory on Friday night at the Winthrop Ballpark. The Eagles improve to 14-13, 1-0 in the Big South with the win, while #30 VMI falls to 17-5, 3-1 in the League with the loss.
Wilson allowed VMI only four hits on the evening, as he was tagged with a pair of runs, one earned, to improve to 1-2 on the season. Keydet starter Trey Barham (5-2) took the loss, as he allowed four runs, three earned, on ten hits, striking out four in 6.1 innings.
“I was very impressed with the way that Wilson threw tonight,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We were very aggressive against him, and tip your cap to him, he made great pitches all night. I thought that our guys competed hard throughout the game, and we just made a couple of uncharacteristic mistakes that really cost us tonight.”
Each pitcher faced the minimum through two innings, with Barham getting a little help on a first-inning double play turned by his middle infielders. Jacoby Fields put the first hit of the ballgame up for the Keydets to lead off the top of the third, but was left stranded despite stealing a base. The Eagles stranded a pair in their half of the third as well, after back-to-back singles by Eddie Tisdale and Chris Carrarra.
The Keydets then put a pair of baserunners on in the top of the fourth on a single by Thane Smith and an intentional walk issued to Eddie Van Es, however, were unable to convert as Ryan Litz went down on strikes for the second time on the evening.
The bottom of the fourth inning saw the homestanding Eagles grab the lead. A leadoff single by Tommy Lentz was followed by a wild pitch to allow Lentz to go to second base, before Mike Honce sent a chopper back to Barham two batters later. Barham wheeled and threw to second base as Lentz decided to head to third base, but Lentz was able to escape Tanner Biagini's tag as the Eagles put runners on the corners with one out. A squeeze bunt dropped down by Kevin Nolan accounted for the first run of the game, while an infield single two batters later brought the score to 2-0 through four innings.
The Eagles tacked on one more run in the fifth, as Lentz again reached on a base knock, this time stole second base, then scored on Louis Ullrich's rightfield single to make it a 3-0 advantage. But the Keydets would answer quickly, as Chad Rice extended his hitting streak to 14 games with a leadoff single to rightfield in the sixth inning, followed by a single to left-centerfield by Thane Smith. A.J. Yoder then laid down a sacrifice bunt just in front of home plate, but the catcher's wild throw to first base allowed Rice to score while Smith and Yoder found themselves in scoring position. A sacrifice fly by Crumpler cut the score to 3-2 and advanced Yoder to third base, bringing the tying run just 90 feet away with one man down. Van Es then sent a hot shot down the first-base line that was stopped by Tisdale, however, the ball squirted away from the first baseman before he could tag the bag. Tisdale quickly recovered to record the out at first base before throwing home to retire Yoder, who had attempted to score when the ball came free.
Another double play ended the bottom of the sixth inning for Barham, allowing the score to remain at 3-2. But Wilson continued to gain momentum through the late innings, recording six strikeouts in the final three innings, allowing only a pair of ninth-inning walks to keep the Keydets at bay. Meanwhile, the Eagles were able to tack on an insurance run in the seventh inning that was charged to Barham, as an RBI double from Bryn Henderson plated Tisdale and chased the VMI starter in favor of Corey Bachman.
Offensively for the Eagles, Henderson, Lentz and Tisdale each had a pair of base hits, while Henderson's two-bagger represented the only extra-base hit of the game for either side. Two of VMI's hits were recorded by Smith (2-for-4, run), while Fields and Rice accounted for the others.
The loss for the Keydets was only their second in 14 tries in the month of March, while the win for the Eagles is only their third in their past nine outings.
The Keydets and Eagles will go back at it for game two on Saturday afternoon at 2 p.m. at the Winthrop Ballpark. The Keydets will send out sophomore righthander Michael Bowman (4-0, 2.29 ERA), while Winthrop will counter with sophomore righthander Jason Franzblau (4-2, 3.25 ERA).
