Baseball 3/1/2008 12:00:00 AM VMIKeydets.com

Baseball Splits Doubleheader With Binghamton

LEXINGTON, Va.? The VMI baseball team split a doubleheader with Binghamton on Saturday afternoon, with the Bearcats claiming a seven-inning, 4-3 victory in game one, before the Keydets came from behind for a 9-7, nine-inning victory to wrap up the series win. VMI improves to 3-3 on the season, while BU wraps up the series at 2-4.

The day's opening contest saw the Keydets make four errors, leading to three unearned runs, including the deciding tally. In the top of the seventh, Peter Bregartner led off the frame with a base knock through the right-side of the infield off of Keydet reliever Daniel Wood (0-1). After moving to third base on Shane Geisslinger's error, Bregartner trotted home on a one-out groundout off the bat of BU's Ken Jacobi. Meanwhile, the Bearcats' Greg Lane (1-0) worked a perfect final two innings to preserve the win.

Game two saw each team post big innings early and carry a 6-6 tie into the eighth inning. The visitors moved on top when cleanup hitter Kyle Klee tagged Keydet reliever Jason Farley (1-0) for a solo home run to centerfield, the only hit the freshman lefty has surrendered in 18 batters faced this season. However, the Keydets rallied in the bottom of the eighth, as junior Mike Roberts cleared the bases with his three-run double to the left-centerfield gap to bring the final margin to 9-7.

“In game one, we saw what may have been two of the best arms on the East Coast go up against each other,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry of the matchup between BU junior lefty Jeff Dennis and VMI junior righty Michael Bowman. “The errors killed us in that game, though. Shane Geisslinger's never had a three-error game in his life probably, that's not the kind of player that he is. But then we bounced back in game two, and I was proud of how we competed throughout the day. Jordan Ballard got us going in the middle innings with a leadoff home run, and Mike Roberts came up big with the double in the eighth. On the mound, Jason Farley did an outstanding job once again, and it was good to see Chris Duty get back on the mound for the first time this year. We were trying not to use him, but we were in a situation where he was ready and wanted the ball, and he nailed down the save. Whenever you play a good club like Binghamton, it feels good to get the weekend win.”

The Keydets grabbed a 2-0 advantage off of Dennis in the third inning of game one when Roberts singled into centerfield to plate Geisslinger before sophomore Tanner Biagini stroked a double to right-centerfield to score Roberts. The Bearcats knotted the game back at two in the fourth, as Ryan Holley's base knock into centerfield plated a pair of unearned runs.

Once again, the homestanding Keydets moved on top, this time when freshman shortstop Ryan Barefoot drove home Thane Smith in the bottom of the fourth to grab a 3-2 advantage.

The Bearcats then mustered single runs in both the sixth and seventh innings, tying the score on Brian Ivan's sacrifice fly to centerfield to plate Holley, whose one-out triple put him in scoring position, before Bregartner's game-winning score in the top of the seventh.

Dennis was charged with three runs, all earned, on eight hits, striking out four while walking only one. Meanwhile, Bowman also went five innings, striking out six while scattering four hits, as both runs he allowed were unearned. Chris Henderson and Matt Edwards worked an inning each in relief, with Henderson being charged with the tying run. In the sixth.

Leading the way offensively for BU in game one were Holley, who drove in a pair while going 2-for-2 with a single and a triple, while Ivan went 2-for-3 with an RBI as well. For the Keydets, Biagini was the only player with multiple hits, as he went 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and an RBI.

Game two saw the Keydets bat around in the second inning for the second time on the weekend. Trailing 2-1 entering the bottom of the second, Geisslinger's two-out single tied the contest, as Ballard crossed the plate after leading off the inning by being hit by a pitch. A throwing error on Klee from shortstop extended the inning and allowed the Keydets to grab a 3-2 advantage, before Roberts connected with a two-run single just inside the rightfield-line to give VMI a three-run advantage.

The Bearcats struck in the top of the fourth, claiming a 6-5 lead while chasing Keydet starter Adam Kruithof from the contest. A base knock from BU leadoff man Ryan James brought the margin to 5-3, while a three-run home run to rightfield by Bregartner gave BU the lead once again.

Once again, the Keydets answered, as Ballard crushed his first home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the fifth, knotting the score at six and setting the stage for both sides' eighth-inning fireworks.

BU starter Murphy Smith worked five innings, allowing seven hits while being charged with six runs, three of them earned. He was relieved by James Guilietti (0-1) who was tagged with the loss by allowing a pair of runs in 2.1 innings, while Khalid Afify recorded the final two outs for the Bearcats while being charged with the final run.

On the mound for VMI, Kruithof worked 3.1 innings, allowing eight hits and six runs, five earned, while striking out four. Lefty Flora threw 2.1 innings of shutout ball, scattering five hits, before Farley came on to set down seven of the eight batters he faced, save Klee's solo home run. Duty then came on to record the first save of his career, working a perfect ninth.

Atop the VMI hitters' slate for game two was Roberts, whose 2-for-5 performance saw him drive in a career-best five runs. Geisslinger went 2-for-5 at the top of the lineup, while Biagini improved his batting average on the year to an astonishing .591 with his 3-for-4 outing. For the visitors, Holley went 3-for-4 in the game, while Bregartner drove in three while going 2-for-5 with his first home run of the season.

The Keydets host Central Connecticut State on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium.

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