Baseball Wins Seventh Straight Over Spiders, 9-5

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Baseball Wins Seventh Straight Over Spiders, 9-5

LEXINGTON, Va.? A five-run sixth inning lead to VMI's seventh-straight win in the series against Richmond, a 9-5 mid-week triumph on Tuesday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium.

VMI (11-15) batted around in the decisive sixth, facing three of the Spiders' (12-15-1) seven hurlers on the evening. The big hits came on a two-out single by freshman right fielder Sam Roberts to give VMI the lead for good and a two-run double by sophomore third baseman Tanner Biagini.

“I was really impressed with our offensive approaches tonight,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “Sam (Roberts) got on base three times hitting in the leadoff spot for the first time in his career. Mike Roberts had a couple of big hits, and so did Tanner Biagini. Down in the order, Brian Sandridge had a great day for us, going 3-for-4, and we moved Shane Geisslinger down to the ninth spot, and he gave us a pair of hits and an RBI.”

Chris Duty (2-0) picked up his second career win against the Spiders, working three innings while surrendering a pair of unearned runs on two hits. He relieved starter Jason Farley, who made his most successful start of the season, a four-inning performance when he allowed three runs on three hits, striking out three. Trey Barham and Travis Smink wrapped up the contest with scoreless innings.

“I thought that Jason Farley did a nice job aside from a couple of mistakes in the second inning, and Chris Duty did a great job out of the pen,” remarked Ikenberry. “We gave them a couple of runs in the game with a wild pitch, a stolen base and a couple of errors, but it was good to see Mike Roberts get back behind the plate for the first time since his injury. We knew he'd be a rusty, but we wanted to get him back in there before we get back into Conference play.”

The Spiders' fourth pitcher of the night, Jay Joines (0-2), took the loss for the Spiders, as three of the four batters that he faced came around to score. After retiring only one batter, Joines gave way to Daniel Clark, who surrendered both Sam Roberts' knock and Biagini's two-bagger to give the Keydets an 8-5 advantage.

Josh Horn was dominant in his three innings of relief for the Spiders, the longest outing for a UR hurler on the evening. After relieving starter Anthony Cafagna, who allowed a pair of runs in only one inning, Horn allowed only one hit as the Spiders surged to a 3-2 lead.

Mike Roberts tied the contest at three with a home run to lead off the fifth inning. The Spiders came back with to take a 5-3 lead in the top of the sixth, thanks to two Keydet errors and a sacrifice fly by Mike Mergenthaler, who slugged his third home run of the season earlier in the contest.

Brian Sandridge went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles for the Keydets, as Tanner Biagini, Mike Roberts and Geisslinger each had a pair of knocks for the Keydets. The Spiders were paced by Mergenthaler (1-for-3) who collected all three RBIs for the Monarchs.

The Keydets return to action on Wednesday evening, taking on Old Dominion in Norfolk at 6 p.m.
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Players Mentioned

Trey Barham

#8 Trey Barham

LHP
6' 0"
Senior
L/L
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

RHP
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
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

C
6' 2"
Junior
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

Players Mentioned

Trey Barham

#8 Trey Barham

6' 0"
Senior
L/L
LHP
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Chris Duty

#22 Chris Duty

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
RHP
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Shane Geisslinger

#2 Shane Geisslinger

5' 8"
Senior
R/R
IF
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
C
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