Offense Clicks Early and Often In Series-Opening 11-4 Win Over Binghamton

Baseball VMIKeydets.com

Offense Clicks Early and Often In Series-Opening 11-4 Win Over Binghamton

LEXINGTON, Va.? The VMI offense erupted for 17 hits, 11 runs and five stolen bases while striking out only twice as the Keydet pitching staff got all the run support they needed in an 11-4 series-opening win over Binghamton on Friday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium.

The Keydets (2-2) saw starter Trey Barham (1-0) collect his 19th career victory by allowing four runs, only two of them earned, over six innings, while freshman reliever Jason Farley worked a nearly-perfect final three innings for his first collegiate save.

However, Farley was far from the only freshman factoring into the Keydet win. The combination of designated hitter Justin Topping (4-for-5, 2 2B), shortstop Ryan Barefoot (2-for-4, HR, 3 RBI) and catcher Alex Haitsuka (1-for-5, RBI) combined to go 7-for-14 with three extra-base hits and five RBI, as the Keydets hammered out its most hits since a 15-2 defeat of Savannah State on March, 31, 2007, when VMI posted 20 knocks.

“I was very happy with how our offense came out today,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “Out of our first ten batters, we had nine hard-hit balls. Justin Topping did a great job at the top of the lineup as a freshman, and Alex Haitsuka and Ryan Barefoot came up with big hits early to give us a comfortable lead. Trey threw the ball well today, and it was good to see him work out of trouble in the sixth inning. Jason Farley came in and did a good job of slamming the door over the final three innings to collect the save. Overall, I was really happy with our focus and the way we played the game today.”

The Keydet offense got rolling in the second inning, sending ten men to the plate against Binghamton starter Gio Yannuzzi (0-1). A fielding error at shortstop gave the Keydets extra life, as Haitsuka's two-out single broke a scoreless tie, plating rightfielder Brian Sandridge. Yannuzzi then fell behind 3-0 to Barefoot, hitting in the nine-hole in his first collegiate at bat, then saw his next pitch hit off the netting in front of the scoreboard in left field, a three-run home run to give the Keydets a 4-0 advantage. A bunt single by senior second baseman Shane Geisslinger followed on the next pitch to keep the rally going, before Topping's first double of the day capped the run at 5-0.

Barham surrendered only his second hit of the day to leadoff the fourth inning, a single by Bearcat leftfielder Joe Charron. A Corey Taylor double two batters later preceded an RBI groundout from Ryan Holley to put the visitors on the board at 5-1, however Barham escaped further damage with one of his eight strikeouts on the afternoon.

The Keydet bats got going again in the bottom of the fourth off of freshman reliever Morgan Smith, who came on after Yannuzzi was lifted following a line drive straight into his glove off the bat of Biagini to end the second. Geisslinger manufactured his own run in the fourth, reaching on a one-out walk before swiping both second and third base. He then trotted home on a wild pitch, just before Topping's second double of the day. Junior Mike Roberts, making his first career start in leftfield, followed with a single before third baseman Tanner Biagini's RBI double into leftfield brought the margin to 7-1. Sandridge's single up the middle brought the margin to 9-1 through four innings, while a two-run single off the bat of centerfielder Justin Hess in the sixth inning capped the Keydet scoring on the afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Bearcats did their damage offensively in the sixth inning as well. Another leadoff single by Charron off of Barham got things rolling. After retiring the cleanup man, Kyle Klee, on a flyout to rightfield, Barham surrendered back-to-back walks, two of his four on the day, before a fielding error in leftfield plated the Bearcats' second run of the day. Catcher C.J. Lukaszewski followed with an RBI single into leftfield before a sacrifice fly by rightfielder Peter Bregartner plated the inning's final tally.

From there, Farley took the ball and cruised through the final three innings, retiring the first eight hitters he faced until a two-out error in the ninth inning broke the string. He then induced a grounder back to himself and flipped to first to wrap up his first collegiate appearance. On the day, Farley recorded three strikeouts and five groundouts, needing only 35 pitches to retire nine of the ten batters he faced.

Leading the way for the Bearcat offense was Charron, whose 3-for-4 day was the only multiple-hit outing for the Bearcats. Holley accounted for a pair of RBI while failing to produce a hit. On the mound, Yannuzzi was tagged for five runs, none earned on six hits over the first two innings, while Smith surrendered six runs on 11 hits through 4.2 innings. Matt Simone, who began the day as the Bearcats' designated hitter, recorded the final four outs.

VMI improved to 3-0 all-time on Leap Day and 3-1 all-time against the Bearcats.

The Keydets and Bearcats wrap up their series on Saturday afternoon in a doubleheader, slated for 1 p.m. VMI then hosts Central Connecticut State to wrap up the weekend on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Ryan Barefoot

#21 Ryan Barefoot

SS/RHP
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Trey Barham

#8 Trey Barham

LHP
6' 0"
Senior
L/L
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

LHP
6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

IF
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Alex Haitsuka

#28 Alex Haitsuka

C/OF
6' 3"
Freshman
R/R
Justin Hess

#3 Justin Hess

IF/OF
5' 11"
Sophomore
L/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

Players Mentioned

Ryan Barefoot

#21 Ryan Barefoot

6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
SS/RHP
Trey Barham

#8 Trey Barham

6' 0"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF
Alex Haitsuka

#28 Alex Haitsuka

6' 3"
Freshman
R/R
C/OF
Justin Hess

#3 Justin Hess

5' 11"
Sophomore
L/R
IF/OF
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