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Ninth-Inning Rally Falls Short In 6-5 Loss to Auburn

AUBURN, Ala.? After Auburn came back from a 3-0 deficit with six straight runs, VMI rallied in the ninth to bring the tying run to second base before falling 6-5 to the Tigers on Sunday afternoon at Plainsman Park. The Keydets fall to 4-7 with the win, while AU improves to 10-4 with their sixth-straight win.

Against Tiger closer Bryan Woodall, the Keydets strung together three consecutive singles to plate the first run of the ninth, making it a two-run Tiger lead when Jordan Ballard's flare down the rightfield-line glanced off of the first baseman's glove to plate Tanner Biagini. After a fielding error by AU second baseman Joseph Sanders allowed another run to score, Woodall rebounded to shut down the rally with a strikeout of David Lottman.

“I thought that our guys kept competing all day and right to the end,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We had a chance to tie it up late in the game and we just fell one batter short. I can't speak highly enough about how well the middle of the lineup did to put up a three-spot early. We've just got to learn to play with a lead. Chris Henderson and Chris Duty both threw well today, and it was good to see Travis Smink out on the mound for the first time in over a year.”

The Keydets took their first lead of the series in the second inning, as Biagini led things off with a home run well beyond the 30-foot wall in leftfield. Following a base knock from freshman Justin Topping, Ballard gave the Keydets a 3-0 lead with his second home run of the season.

Keydet starter Chris Henderson (2-1) escaped a jam in the second inning after a pair of unearned runs crossed the plate to cut the margin to 3-2. Kevin Patterson scored on Ryan Barefoot's error at shortstop, while Brian Fletcher scored on a double play hit into by Ryan Jenkins in the inning.

The Tigers tied the score in the third, when freshman Hunter Morris' two-out, two-strike hit cleared the rightfield wall to bring the score to 3-3.

Henderson cruised through the fourth inning before running into more trouble in the fifth, when Mike Bianucci doubled off of the leftfield wall before scoring on Sanders' base knock through the left-side of the infield to give the Tigers a 4-3 advantage.

Keydet reliever Chris Duty came on in the sixth and saw the first batter he faced, David Cunningham, double down the leftfield line before scoring on a wild pitch to bring the score to 5-3.

Meanwhile, the Auburn pitching staff shut down the Keydet offense. Starter Scott Shuman (2-0), who lasted five innings while giving up three runs on five hits, retired the final four batters he faced, before Michael Hurst, Taylor Thompson and Evan Crawford all worked perfect innings of relief. In all, the Tigers retired 15 in a row until the two-out ninth inning Keydet rally.

The Tigers tacked on a valuable insurance run in the eighth, when Cunningham, who tripled to centerfield, scored on David Jenkins' two-bagger to left-center. That chased Duty from the game after allowing two runs on four hits in 2.2 innings, as Travis Smink came on to strikeout the only batter he faced, making his first appearance in a game in over year as he comes back from Tommy John surgery.

Biagini continued his season-long hitting streak with a 3-for-4 outing in the game, scoring a pair of runs. Ballard recorded his third two-hit game of the four-game set with his single and home run, plating three while scoring a run, while Topping went 2-for-3 in the loss. On the mound, Henderson took the loss allowing four runs, two earned, in five innings.

For the Tigers, Sanders, Patterson and Cunningham each had a pair of hits in the game, with Cunningham scoring a pair of runs along with his double and triple.

The Keydets return to action on Tuesday afternoon, hosting Old Dominion at 4 p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium.

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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
Chris Henderson

#7 Chris Henderson

RHP
6' 0"
Junior
R/R
David Lottman

#1 David Lottman

OF
5' 9"
Sophomore
L/L
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

LHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
Justin Topping

#5 Justin Topping

C/OF
5' 11"
Freshman
R/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
Chris Henderson

#7 Chris Henderson

6' 0"
Junior
R/R
RHP
David Lottman

#1 David Lottman

5' 9"
Sophomore
L/L
OF
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP
Justin Topping

#5 Justin Topping

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
C/OF