LEXINGTON, Va. ? Alex Haitsuka's three-run home run in the 12th inning gave VMI a 7-4 win over Rider on Friday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Keydets (3-6) rallied in the ninth inning of a tied game, loading the bases on three bunts (two hits and an error) with no outs. The Broncs (2-2), however, turned a double play and got a game-saving catch in left field from Maurice Williams to send the game to extra innings.
The visitors could not mount a threat of their own off of Keydet reliever Matt Edwards (1-0), who allowed only one hit and two total base runners over the final four innings, notching five strikeouts along the way.
VMI then rallied in the 12th, getting a leadoff single from Tanner Biagini before reliever Matt Petrowski (0-1) retired the next two batters. A throwing error by third baseman Mason Heyne extended the inning, allowing Haitsuka to send Petrowski's 1-2 offering well beyond the left field wall for the walk-off win. The win was VMI's second in extra innings this season, improving to 5-1 over the past two seasons in such games.
Petrowski took the hard-luck loss, allowing four runs, one earned, in five innings of work.
The Keydets got a standout performance from late-inning substitute Colin Miller, who went 2-for-3 with a double at the plate, while also notching an outfield assist and a stellar catch along the bullpen fencing in right field. Haitsuka and Biagini also had two-hit games, while Graham Sullivan tied a school record with 10 fielding assists at shortstop.
“It's good to start the weekend off with a win,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “We found a way to get a win, and that's a big thing for this team right now. Colin Miller came in and gave us a great effort, he had a couple of big defensive plays and got on base for us. Matt Edwards was unhittable today. We extended him longer than we would have liked, but we had a chance to get a win, and you do what you have to do. Alex Haitsuka came up with the big hit when we needed it. He stayed short to the ball, and got us off the field with a win. Rider's a good club, and this was a hard fought game tonight. If we pitch and play defense like we did tonight, then we can win a lot of games.”
George Piccirilli, making his first start of the season, gave VMI a 2-0 lead in the second on a screaming liner off the third baseman's glove that bounced into shallow left-center field. A leadoff home run by Heyne made the score 2-1 in the top of the fourth, before Sam Roberts came around to score on an error hit into by Piccirilli, bringing the score to 3-1 in the bottom of the frame.
Rider answered in the seventh when Sean Olson drilled a two-run single into center field off of Roberts, who came in from right field to work two innings on the mound. With the score tied at three, each team scored a run in the eighth without the benefit of a hit, as Darron Lattomus and Roberts each collected sacrifice flies in the inning.
Rider was led at the dish by James Hayes and Nick Wojnowski, each of whom went 3-for-5.
The game's starting pitchers each pitched well, as Keydet starter Travis Simnk allowed one run on seven hits in six innings, while Bronc starter Patrick Devlin went five innings, surrendering three runs, two earned, on four hits.
The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday, with the first game set for 1 p.m. The first game is scheduled for nine innings, while the second will be seven frames.
