LEXINGTON, Va. - With 16-8 and 14-2 wins over Lafayette in a non-conference doubleheader at Gray-Minor Stadium Saturday, the VMI baseball team improved to 5-0 for the first time in school history.
After sweeping a three-game set from Bucknell last weekend, the Keydets scored two more wins over a Patriot League team Saturday, scoring a combined 30 runs thanks to eight home runs against the Leopards (0-2). Leading the way offensively for VMI were junior Sam Roberts, who was 5 for 8 with three home runs and seven RBIs, and sophomore Jacob Morley, who was 5 for 6 with six RBIs, reaching base in eight of his nine plate appearances on the twinbill.
In game one, Lafayette took a 2-0 lead in the first inning on RBI singles from Justin Shepherd and Brad Weiss. The Keydets, however, went to work in the bottom of the inning, scoring seven runs and chasing starting pitcher Zach Fritz from the game. After tying the game on a bases-loaded walk, VMI broke things open on Rob Dickinson's two-run single and Morley's three-run home run.
The Keydets tacked on single runs in the second and third innings while Lafayette countered with one in the third, coming on Matt Hall's base knock. Leading 9-3 in the fourth inning, VMI put the game out of reach with a four-run fourth inning and a three-run fifth. In the fourth, Morley plated one with an infield single before Roberts followed with a three-run home run to right field. In the fifth, the Keydets batted around, scoring three runs on a hit, three walks, two errors and a passed ball.
Lafayette capped the scoring with a four-run sixth, as Brian Davila, Rob Froio and Shepherd each had run-scoring singles, with Alex Bechta collecting the other RBI on a groundout.
Sophomore Adam Lopez picked up the win in the seven-inning contest, working 4.2 innings, allowing four runs and striking out four. Freshman John Garrett worked the final two innings for the Keydets, allowing just one hit while not being charged a run, notching two strikeouts in his collegiate debut. Fritz was charged the loss for the Leopards, allowing seven runs on four hits and three walks in two-thirds of an inning.
"Adam lopez did a fine job in his game, pitching 4.2 innings," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "I was very pleased with what our bullpen did. John Garrett, in the first outing of his career, did a nice job of throwing strikes and mixing his pitches."
Senior Tanner Biagini was 3 for 3 with two doubles, a home run and a walk for VMI, while Roberts was 3 for 4 with three RBIs and a home run. Dickinson and Morley, the eighth and ninth hitters in the VMI lineup, combined to drive in seven runs and score four.
"I was very impressed with our offense in game one," said Ikenberry. "We gave up two runs in the first and came back with a seven-spot. We put up runs in every frame but one; I was really pleased with the way we swung the bats. Tanner and Sammy had big games for us, but the big thing was the bottom of our lineup being able to turn it over for us. Rob Dickinson did a great job, and Jacob Morley had some great at bats too, giving Sammy and Tanner opportunities with men on base."
In game two, the Keydets shutout their opponents in the first inning for the first time this season, and in fact, did so until the sixth inning. VMI was on top 11-0 by that point after a five-run second, a four-run fourth and a two-run fifth.
The Keydets took the lead on Graham Sullivan's second-inning single, then moved ahead 2-0 on a Miles McQuaig sacrifice fly, coming in the freshman's first collegiate at bat. Dickinson followed with a two-run home run and fellow freshman Cory Spangenberg scored his first hit of the day, an RBI double, three batters later.
Each of the Keydets' four runs in the fourth came on home runs, as Roberts' two-run blast was followed by a solo shot from Spangenberg, marking the first back-to-back home runs for VMI this season. Ballard hit another two batters later, moving the hosts ahead 9-0, before Roberts followed with another two-run shot in the fifth inning after Morley's two-out double.
"In game two, with playing a doubleheader, I was really worried about our focus," said Ikenberry. But we came out hard and I was very impressed with our offense and how we manufactured some runs. Sammy had a big day for us and Cory had a couple of great AB's. Jordan Ballard, who I thought struggled in game one, did a nice job of stepping up as a senior and really showing his maturity in game two. It was really good to see our options off the bench, too. We were able to play a lot of players today. I'm really surprised with our position players and the options that we have off the bench."
The Leopards, meanwhile, were flummoxed by freshman hurler Coby Cowgill. Lafayette managed a single base runner in each of the first five innings, but VMI turned three double plays behind Cowgill to keep the visitors off the scoreboard. Cowgill was charged only a sixth inning tally that scored after he left the game, as he scattered three hits in five-plus innings in his second career start, earning his first collegiate win. Sophomore Karter Rivera came on to work the final four innings, allowing one run on two hits, striking out four to earn his first career save. On the day, Maury HS alums Cowgill, Rivera and Garrett combined to allow two runs in 11 innings for VMI, notching a win and a save with an opponents' batting average of .167.
"I can't speak highly enough of the way Coby came out and threw the baseball," said Ikenberry. "Karter did a nice job coming in behind him and throwing strikes. The biggest thing for us this early in the season is to focus on pitching and defense, and I was really happy with the way we did those two things today."
The Leopards' lone runs of the day came on a two-run single from Hall, who finished the doubleheader 5 for 6 with three RBI. The Keydet tacked on three more runs in the late innings, coming on a one-out single from Biagini in the seventh and a two-out double from Morley in the eighth.
With his eight at bats on the day, Roberts surpassed VMI's career stats threshold and moved into third place in career on-base percentage (.439) and fifth place in career batting average (.345). The junior currently leads the team with eight runs scored, 11 RBIs and a 1.000 slugging percentage in the first five games of the season.
The Keydets and Leopards wrap up the three-game series Sunday at 1 p.m.
