Baseball VMIKeydets.com

Bats Come Alive Late In 11-2 Win Over Norfolk State

NORFOLK, Va.? With the game tied at two entering the seventh inning, VMI erupted for nine runs over the final three innings on their way to an 11-2 win over Norfolk State on Wednesday afternoon at Marty L. Miller Field in Norfolk. The win snaps a nine-game losing streak for the Keydets (5-12), while the Spartans fall to 7-7 with the loss.

The Keydets, who used six pitchers in the contest, saw Matt Edwards (1-0) pick up his first career win, as he struck out Jerrod Farley with the go-ahead run at third base to end the sixth inning before working a scoreless seventh inning. Meanwhile, A.J. Yoder led off the top of the seventh with a walk, advanced to third base on a pair of wild pitches by NSU reliever Frankie Caldeyro (2-2) and trotted home on a sacrifice flyout to rightfield by Mike Roberts to give the Keydets the lead for good.

“I was proud of how our guys stayed into the game all nine innings and how we executed late in game,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “All year, we've been working on executing the little things all game long, and it's great that we did it today. I was really excited about the energy in the dugout both in the pre-game and during the game. Sam Roberts and Justin Hess had great days offensively for us, and A.J. Yoder had some great at bats. It was also good to see Jordan Ballard back into the lineup after being sick all weekend also. I thought our pitchers did a great job of throwing strikes today as well.”

Sam Roberts paced the Keydet offense with three singles and a pair of runs scored, while Justin Hess, Jordan Ballard and Shane Geisslinger each had a pair of hits in the game as well. Geisslinger added on three runs scored , two RBI and a pair of stolen bases with his double and triple from the leadoff spot, while Yoder drove home a pair from the second slot in the order.

Geisslinger led off the game with a triple to left-centerfield, his first career three-bagger. He gave the Keydets a 1-0 advantage one batter later, as Yoder grounded out to second base to pick up the RBI.

Jason Farley walked a pair of batters in the first inning, and caught Moriba George stealing second base for the second out of the inning. However, John Boyd connected for his second home run of the season to drive home a pair and give the Spartans a 2-1 advantage through one inning.

The Keydets left the bases loaded in the second inning off of Spartan starter Jason Barker, before tying the game back up in the fifth. Geisslinger was hit by a pitch to leadoff the frame before moving to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Yoder. Geisslinger then stole third and scored on Tanner Biagini's lone hit of the day, a single into leftfield to knot the score at two. However, the Keydets gave away another opportunity to take the lead, stranding a pair of runners when Caldeyro came on in relief of Barker to induce an inning-ending groundout from Justin Topping.

Chris Duty then worked around a pair of baserunners in the bottom of the fifth, including picking off his second runner of the day, to keep the game tied through his third inning of relief.

Roberts plated Yoder with the go-ahead run in the seventh inning off of Caldeyro. The Keydets then saw their offense come to life in the final two innings. A pair of errors led to four runs, three of them earned, in the eighth inning for VMI, with Sam Roberts and Yoder picking up RBI, while four more runs came across in the ninth, with only one of them earned.

The Keydets return to action on Friday evening, beginning Big South Conference play at High Point at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast online at www.VMIKeydets.com.
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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
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Matt Edwards

#14 Matt Edwards

RHP/DH
5' 11"
Redshirt 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
Justin Hess

#3 Justin Hess

IF/OF
5' 11"
Sophomore
L/R
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

C
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

IF/OF/P
6' 2"
Freshman
L/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
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Matt Edwards

#14 Matt Edwards

5' 11"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
RHP/DH
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF
Justin Hess

#3 Justin Hess

5' 11"
Sophomore
L/R
IF/OF
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
C
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

6' 2"
Freshman
L/R
IF/OF/P
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