PRINCE GEORGE, Va. - Playing at his high school alma mater, VMI junior Sam Roberts allowed just one run in five innings on the mound to get the win and hit a two-run double to break the game open as the Keydets swept their season-opening series against Bucknell with an 8-2 win at Prince George High School.
With the Keydets' home facility, Gray-Minor Stadium, out of commission due to snow and ice, the season-opening series was moved nearly three hours east to PGHS. VMI opened its 2010 season 3-0, marking the first time the program has done so since 1984, when the team started 4-0. Bucknell, the defending co-regular season champions of the Patriot League, fell to 0-3 with the loss.
"First off, we want to sincerely thank Coach Mickey Roberts and Prince George High School for allowing us to play down here," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "It was a great environment out here. I can't speak highly enough of the way that they hosted us and the job they did in putting this on. Coach Roberts and (former Keydet) Mike (Roberts) did a great job of getting the field ready for us, and it was just outstanding for them to welcome us like they did."
The Bison grabbed a 1-0 cushion in the first inning, but missed out on an opportunity for more. Following a one-out single by Andrew Brouse that plated B.J. LaRosa, Doug Shribman struck out and Ben Yoder was caught stealing home on a double-steal attempt, getting Roberts (1-0) and the Keydets out of the jam with a double play. Keydet sophomore Chase Worthington then hit his first career home run to lead off the third before Roberts and BU starting pitcher Corey Boehm (0-1) combined to retire the next 12 batters in order.
That run came to an end in the bottom of the fifth. Boehm issued a one-out walk to Rob Dickinson, while Worthington followed with a base knock. The Keydets then took a 2-1 lead on Jacob Morley's double to the right-center field gap, while Roberts followed to make it 4-1 with his two-bagger down the left-field line.
"I thought the game started out a little lackluster until the bottom of the fifth," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "They scored one off of Sammy early, and then we did a nice job of executing hit-and-runs and putting guys in motion, and that's what we wanted to do. In the fifth inning, we put up a three-spot with three great at bats. Chase Worthington hit a home run in his first at bat of the year, and Jacob Morley and Graham Sullivan each had great hit-and-run at bats."
Roberts then left the mound in favor of Jason Farley, who picked up where the junior left off by retiring six of the seven batters he faced, as his two-out walk in the seventh broke a string of 11 Bison hitters retired consecutively. The Keydets, meanwhile, doubled their lead with a three-run sixth in an inning that saw two errors and two wild pitches, along with knocks by Jordan Ballard and Graham Sullivan.
Sullivan delivered his second double in as many innings in the seventh, plating Ballard to push the margin to 8-1 before Keydet reliever Andrew Deal needed just six pitches to work a 1-2-3 eighth inning. The Bison rallied in the ninth inning to make it 8-2, but Alan Watts settled in to strike out the final two batters to end the game.
"I thought the game started out a little lackluster until the bottom of the fifth," said Ikenberry. "They scored one off of Sammy early, and then we did a nice job of executing hit-and-runs and putting guys in motion, and that's what we wanted to do. In the fifth inning, we put up a three-spot with three great at bats. Chase Worthington hit a home run in his first at bat of the year, and Jacob Morley and Graham Sullivan each had great hit-and-run at bats."
Sullivan, Worthington and Morley were each 2 for 4 with an RBI and an extra-base hit for VMI. Yoder led BU with a 2 for 3 day at the plate, while the Bison failed to connect for an extra-base hit on the afternoon.
On opening weekend, the Keydet offense was led by freshmen Cory Spangenberg (.500, 2 2B, 1 HR, 5 RBI, 1-1 SB) and Rob Dickinson (.500, 1 HR, 3 R, 1-1 SB). On the mound, 10 different VMI hurlers combined for a 3.60 ERA, striking out 28 in 25 innings with the Bison hitting .247 on the weekend.
"I was really happy with the way we played defense down here," said Ikenberry. "When you play on a different field and a different surface, it's great to play defense like that. Our pitching staff did an excellent job of throwing strikes. I liked that Jason Farley and Andrew Deal were able to come in and shut things down in the middle there and Alan Watts slammed the door. I was really pleased with the way our guys competed, the way we were poised and the way we executed offensively."
VMI's next scheduled contest was to come at Richmond on Tuesday, but that game has been indefinitely postponed. The Keydets are now expected to return to action Friday, playing host to Lafayette in the first of a three-game series at Gray-Minor Stadium.
