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Baseball Falls Behind Early, Can?t Overcome Deficit Late in 11-9 Loss to Lafayette

LEXINGTON, Va.? Lafayette pounded out 11 runs in the first three innings and held off a late VMI charge to take the rubber game of the opening weekend series at Gray-Minor Stadium. Sunday's win improves the Leopards mark to 2-1 on the season, while the Keydets fall to 1-2.

Keydet freshman starter Lefty Flora (0-1) was tagged for eight hits and nine runs in 2.2 innings of work in his collegiate debut, walking four while striking out a pair. He was relieved by sophomore righthander Josh McPherson, who failed to record an out and was charged with two runs on a pair of hits.

But a pair of relievers kept the Leopards off the scoreboard for the final 6.1 innings, as redshirt sophomore Matt Edwards scattered four hits over 2.1 innings, while freshman Adam Kruithof, making his collegiate debut as well, struck out three while allowing only three baserunners over the final four innings to keep the game close as VMI managed a late comeback.

“I was proud of how our guys fought back after being down 11-2 in the third inning,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning, and that says something about the resilience of our guys to fight back like we did. Matt Edwards did a nice job of put up some zeroes when we needed them, and Adam Kruithof was impressive over the final four innings. There are a lot of unknowns for us this time of the year, and that's part of the process on opening weekend, to start defining roles. We'll get back to business this week and get ready for James Madison on Wednesday.”

The offensive fireworks began immediately after a 1:03 first pitch, with the Leopards putting together a four-run first inning. Joe Ezekiel plated the first tally with a single back up the middle, with Joe Butler doubling the margin two batters later with his base knock through the left-side of the infield. A two-out bunt single off of Ryan Roberts bat brought home the third run, while an errant throw on the play by Flora to first base accounted for the inning's final tally before a third run was cut off at the plate.

Keydet leadoff man Shane Geisslinger began the bottom of the first with a double for the second-straight contest, this time into the left-centerfield gap. Mike Roberts brought him home two batters later with a single into rightfield, before moving himself into scoring position with his first stolen base of the year. Third baseman Tanner Biagini plated Roberts with a single through the left-side, though the Keydets could muster no more in the first, keeping the advantage at 4-2 for the visitors.

After a scoreless second for both sides, the Leopards sent 12 men to the plate in the third, despite Flora retiring the first two batters of the inning. Flora was lifted after three singles and a pair of walks, while McPherson allowed each of the three batters he faced to reach base before Edwards came on to end the rally. The big hits came in the form of two-run singles from Lafayette nine-hole hitter Ryan Froio and three-hole hitter Tom Hayes.

The Keydets began clawing back into the contest in the middle innings, with Biagini leading off the fourth inning with an infield hit and coming around to score on a fielding error by the leftfielder. An eight-run margin was then cut to five in the fifth, when the local product, Brian Sandridge, hit his first home run of the season, a three-run blast beyond the leftfield wall to plate A.J. Yoder and Roberts.

Leopard starter Ryan Hanna (1-0) was lifted after five innings of work, allowing six earned runs on nine hits on his way to score his first collegiate win. Mike LeClerc-Spier came on to work the next three-plus innings, retiring six in a row after a leadoff double off the leftfield wall by Justin Topping, the first batter he came on to face.

The Keydets cut the margin to 11-7 with an eighth-inning sacrifice fly from Topping that plated Jordan Ballard. In the bottom of the ninth, the Leopards brought on Tyler Chromey to close out a four-run game, after LeClerc-Spier hit Geisslinger to lead off the inning. After inducing a pair of groundouts, Chromey surrendered a double to Thane Smith to bring Biagini to the plate. The sophomore delivered with a single up the middle to cut it to a two-run contest and bring Sandridge to the plate representing the tying run. Sandridge hit a ball back up the middle that was cut off by Lafayette second baseman Tom Hayes and flipped to second, where shortstop Daniel Bierce was waiting to record the final out just before Biagini slid in.

Ezekiel and Butler each notched three hits on the afternoon, with Ezekiel, Hayes and Froio each accounting for two RBI. For the Keydets, Biagini went 3-for-5 with a pair of RBI, while Sandridge plated three with his home run, one of two hits on the day.

The Keydets return to action on Wednesday afternoon, traveling to Harrisonburg to take on James Madison at 2:30 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Matt Edwards

#14 Matt Edwards

RHP/DH
5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
Lefty Flora

#12 Lefty Flora

LHP
5' 9"
Freshman
L/L
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

IF
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

RHP/IF
5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
Josh McPherson

#27 Josh McPherson

RHP
6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

C
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Brian Sandridge

#31 Brian Sandridge

OF
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
Justin Topping

#5 Justin Topping

C/OF
5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
A.J. Yoder

#10 A.J. Yoder

IF
5' 11"
Junior
L/R

Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Matt Edwards

#14 Matt Edwards

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
RHP/DH
Lefty Flora

#12 Lefty Flora

5' 9"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
RHP/IF
Josh McPherson

#27 Josh McPherson

6' 4"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
C
Brian Sandridge

#31 Brian Sandridge

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
OF
Justin Topping

#5 Justin Topping

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
C/OF
A.J. Yoder

#10 A.J. Yoder

5' 11"
Junior
L/R
IF