Baseball Holds On For 9-8 Win Over William & Mary

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Baseball Holds On For 9-8 Win Over William & Mary

LEXINGTON, Va.? Freshman rightfielder Sam Roberts threw out James Williamson as he attempted to score the tying run in the top of the ninth inning and freshman Alex Haitsuka ended the game by throwing out Jeff Jones as he tried to steal second base as William & Mary's comeback bid fell short in a 9-8 VMI win on Tuesday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Keydets, winners of five straight, improve to 9-12 on the season, while the Tribe fall to 16-9 with their fifth straight loss.

After staking an 8-0 lead through four innings, thanks in large part to sophomore Brian Sandridge's third-inning grand slam, VMI saw W&M come back with runs in each of the last five innings to bring the go-ahead run to the plate in both the eighth and ninth innings. But Keydet reliever Travis Smink recorded his second save of the season while working through the final two innings, getting some help from his defense late in the game to save the win.

“I don't even know where to begin with that game,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We had some big at bats early to take the lead, but I give a lot of credit to William & Mary, they just kept chipping away. Travis Smink showed a lot of heart to battle in there and keep us out front. I was proud of how our freshman played, especially with Sam Roberts throwing out the tying run at the plate, and Alex Haitsuka made the play when he needed to after letting guys steal a couple of bags earlier. Our freshman arms have to do a better job, but I can't speak highly enough of Chris Duty's ability to get us into the game and shut down one of the top offenses in the state. He really set the tone by allowing only three hits in five innings, and that's good to see out of Chris.”

Chris Duty (1-1) dominated the early innings, facing the minimum the first time through the lineup while allowing only one run through five innings. Meanwhile, the Keydets were pounding Tribe starter Logan Billbrough (1-1) for eight runs off of six hits through the first four innings.

However, after taking that 8-0 lead, the Keydet bats fell silent, off of three Tribe relievers. Jeremy Neustifter, Pat Kantakevich and Sean Grieve each walked one batter but did not allow a Keydet hit over the final four innings.

The Tribe comeback started in the fifth inning, when Robbie Nickle doubled and scored on Chris Jensen's two-out single up the middle. The Tribe cut the margin to 8-2 in the sixth on an unearned run when Ben Guez scored on a throwing error by third baseman Tanner Biagini.

Keydet reliever Ryan Barefoot surrendered his second run in relief in the seventh inning, when Tyler Stampone doubled in Derrick Osteen to deficit to five runs.

Barefoot was lifted in favor of freshman Adam Kruithof, who failed to record an out while facing four batters, walking a pair while allowing two hits. Two of those baserunners scored to bring the margin to 8-5 when Smink was summoned with the tying run at the plate and no outs. After hitting Jones to load the bases, Smink then retired the next three batters three batters that he faced by inducing an infield chopper that Biagini charged and threw home to record the first out, before a strikeout and a flyout ended the threat.

The Keydets tacked on an important insurance run in the bottom of the eighth off of Grieve. The Tribe left-hander walked Sam Roberts to begin the frame and saw the rightfielder steal second. Sandridge dropped down a sacrifice bunt to move Roberts to within 90 feet of home, as he scored when Grieve delivered a wild pitch in the following at bat.

VMI would need that fourth run, as the Tribe bats rallied once again. A two-run home run to left-centerfield by Tim Park brought the margin to 9-7 with one out in the ninth off of Smink, who then surrendered an infield hit on a chopper to the right of the mound to Cole Franklin. Williamson delivered his first triple of the season to deep rightfield, plating Franklin and leaving the tying run just 90 feet away with one out. That was when Jones' bloop single into shallow rightfield fell in, as Williamson first broke for home, held up thinking Roberts could make the play, then charged home after seeing the ball fall safely. However, Roberts came up throwing, and Haitsuka made a fantastic scoop on a short hop just to the first-base side of home plate and dove across the bag to tag out Williamson just in time. Roberts recorded his team-leading third outfield assist of the year, gunning his second runner at the plate this season.

With two outs in a one-run game, Jones, who was a perfect 7-for-7 on the basepaths this season including one already in the game, took off for second to try and get into scoring position for backup backstop Brett Conner. However, Haitsuka made his best throw of the night to second, sealing the fifth-straight win for the Keydets.

The Keydets were led offensively by Sandridge, who slugged VMI's first grand slam of the season while going 1-for-3, and by Jordan Ballard, who went 1-for-3 with a solo home run of his own. A.J. Yoder went 2-for-4 and drove home a run, while Shane Geisslinger accounted for another RBI with his sacrifice fly.

The Tribe saw Tyler Stampone and Mike Sheridan each go 2-for-5, while subs Franklin and Jones each collected a pair of hits as well. Park's ninth-inning blast was his sixth of the season.

The Keydets return to action on Wednesday afternoon, traveling to Harrisonburg to take on James Madison at 3 p.m.

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Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Ryan Barefoot

#21 Ryan Barefoot

SS/RHP
6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

RHP
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

IF
5' 8"
Senior
R/R
Alex Haitsuka

#28 Alex Haitsuka

C/OF
6' 3"
Freshman
R/R
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

RHP/IF
5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

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

#31 Brian Sandridge

OF
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

LHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
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
Ryan Barefoot

#21 Ryan Barefoot

6' 4"
Freshman
R/R
SS/RHP
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF
Alex Haitsuka

#28 Alex Haitsuka

6' 3"
Freshman
R/R
C/OF
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
RHP/IF
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

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

#31 Brian Sandridge

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
OF
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP
A.J. Yoder

#10 A.J. Yoder

5' 11"
Junior
L/R
IF