LEXINGTON, Va.- Thanks to a seven-run fourth inning, the largest output in a single frame by the team this season, the VMI baseball team scored an 8-5 victory against Norfolk State on Tuesday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets won their fourth straight contest and remained tied for their best start in program history at 9-3, while the Spartans fall to 9-7 with the loss.
The Keydets sent 11 batters to the plate in the fourth inning, pounding out seven hits off of three NSU pitchers. Starter Jason Barker (0-1), was relieved after giving up a pair of hits and a walk to leadoff the inning by Frankie Caldeyro. The right-handed reliever surrendered three consecutive hits before recording the inning's second out, but the damage was already done, as the Keydets had taken a 3-2 advantage. Caldeyro was lifted after another RBI single from A.J. Yoder in favor of Joey Seal, who allowed a run on a wild pitch before a full-count home run by Robert Crumpler put an end to the scoring at 8-1.
VMI reliever Corey Bachman, who entered the game with one out in the fourth inning trailing 2-1, allowed NSU to answer with three runs, one earned in the fifth inning, but still took the victory to improve to 1-0 on the season. He was followed on the mound by Ian Casher, who surrendered only two hits in three innings of relief, while Kevin Crum tied the school record for single-season saves by working a 1-2-3 ninth inning for his seventh of the season.
“I tip my hat to Norfolk State, they came out aggressive and for the first time this year, really hit our starting pitcher hard,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We bounced back and put up a big number in the fourth inning, and I really thought the way we played offense today was outstanding. Jacoby Fields, Mike Roberts and Tanner Biagini did a great job in the bottom of the order, and we got clutch hits from Chad Rice and Robert Crumpler early. I can't talk highly enough about the job our bullpen continues to do, to come into this kind of game and put up zeroes in the final four innings is a great advantage to have.”
Sophomore A.J. Yoder continued his hot streak at the plate, going 3-for-4 with an RBI while raising his team-leading batting average to .395. Both Jacoby Fields (2-for-3) and Michael Roberts (2-for-2, two runs) collected multiple hits on the afternoon, while Chad Rice and Crumpler each brought home two runs. For the visitors, Jerrod Farley hit his second home run of the season to give the Spartans a 1-0 lead in the second inning on his way to a 2-for-4 afternoon, while Charles Lalane (2-for-5, run), Lyall Foran (2-for-5, run) and Ernie Banks (2-for-3) also had multiple hits.
VMI starter Chris Henderson escaped damage in the first inning despite allowing three base knocks, thanks in large part to an outfield assist from Eddie Van Es after a single by Lalane led off the game. Henderson was not so fortunate in the second, when Farley's shot to left-centerfield gave the visitors the lead. The Keydets responded in their half of the third inning, when Barker surrendered his first earned run of the season after walking Roberts, seeing him advance to third on a pair of groundouts before a chopper to the left-side by Rice knotted the score at one.
The Spartans took the lead again in the top of the fourth, when Juan Serrano scored on a single by John Boyd, the first batter Bachman faced on the afternoon. The Keydets then responded with the seven-spot, as Roberts, Biagini and Yoder collected RBI singles, Rice contributed a sacrifice fly, and the wild pitch proceeded Crumpler's two-run bomb.
While NSU answered quickly in the top of the fifth, it wasn't enough. A leadoff single by Lalane was follwed by a walk and a fielding error on Crumpler that allowed Lalane to score and put runners at second and third. A wild pitch brought home the second run of the inning, while a sacrifice fly by Rocco Savage capped the scoring at 8-5.
The Keydets will return to action on Friday afternoon, hosting Maryland-Eastern Shore at 4 p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Spartans host Seton Hall for a three-game series this weekend, with game one scheduled for Friday at 2 p.m.
