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Baseball Falls to Longwood, 6-4

LEXINGTON, Va.? VMI brought the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, but Mike Roberts' fly ball to deep right field was caught as Longwood held on for a 6-4 win in non-conference baseball action on Wednesday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium.

Playing their final game of the season, the Lancers (23-26-1) jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the fourth inning. The Keydets (26-24) quickly answered with back-to-back home runs from sophomore sluggers Tanner Biagini and Jordan Ballard in the home fourth, before trading runs with the visitors in the seventh.

A sacrifice fly in the eighth cut the margin the LU lead to two runs, but the Keydets could do no further damage in dropping their second-straight contest.

Sam Roberts paced the Keydet attack with a 4-for-5 night and is now hitting .613 (19-for-31) during his six-game hitting streak, raising his batting average to a team-best .362. For the Lancers, Jake Yocum went 3-for-4 with two runs scored, while Robbie Bailey and David Smiy each had a pair of knocks.

Lance Harting (6-4) earned the win for the visitors, working the final 5.2 innings while allowing only two unearned runs on five hits. Adam Kruithof (1-2), the first of six Keydet pitchers, was charged with the loss after allowing two runs on three hits in 2.2 innings.

“It was a good college baseball game tonight,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We used a majority of our available arms, and tried to get some guys some work before the tournament. We were able to play some guys that hadn't been out there much lately and it all came down to a couple of plays. Their nine-hole hitter hits a hopper over our first baseman to bring in two runs (in the fourth), and there in the ninth, Mike (Roberts) hits a ball to the wall that they catch. That's just the breaks of the game.”

Bailey led off the game with a home run to left-center field, before Kruithof retired the next six men he faced. The Lancers chased the freshman right-hander in the third, pushing the lead to 2-0 on Phil Cerreto's base knock into right field.

Daniel Wood came on to escape the jam, but was tagged for three runs in the fourth. Yocum doubled home the first run, before Brant Jones sent a chopper into shallow right field, giving the Lancers the five-run cushion.

Ballard and Biagini followed to give VMI its second back-to-back home runs of the season, with the first coming on March 22 when Ballard and Brian Sandridge did so in the ninth inning at High Point.

LU starter John Walker II was lifted two batters later after a one-out walk, allowing Harting to come on. The sophomore reliever got some help from his defense in the form of double plays in the fifth and sixth before the teams traded runs in the seventh.

After VMI turned a twin-killing of its own in the top of the eighth, Sandridge drew a one-out walk and went to third base when an errant throw went into center field as he advanced on a wild pitch. Topping delivered the sacrifice fly, but the VMI offense was handcuffed from there.

The Keydets return to action on Friday evening at 7 p.m., hosting game one of a weekend Big South series against Charleston Southern.
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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
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

RHP/IF
5' 11"
Freshman
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
Daniel Wood

#13 Daniel Wood

LHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L

Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Adam Kruithof

#9 Adam Kruithof

5' 11"
Freshman
R/R
RHP/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
Daniel Wood

#13 Daniel Wood

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP