LEXINGTON, Va.- VMI hit three home runs off of Winthrop pitchers but could never overcome an early deficit as the Eagles took game one of a weekend series, 6-5, in Big South Conference action Friday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium.

Winthrop (22-25, 10-12 Big South) scored single runs in each of the first three innings and tacked on another in the fifth before scoring two big runs in the eighth.  VMI cut the lead to a single run on three separate occasions, coming on home runs by Graham Sullivan, Jordan Ballard and Cory Spangenberg, but could never pull even.

Eagle starter Matteo D'Angelo (7-4) earned the win by allowing three runs on three hits in six innings, striking out eight.  Tyler Mizenko came on to record his fifth save of the season, surrendering two runs in three innings, punching out four.  Adam Lopez (5-3) took the loss, giving up four runs on nine hits in 6.2 innings while notching eight strikeouts.

Matt Thielepape paced the Eagle offense, going 3 for 4 with three RBIs.  The senior ended his evening a single short of the cycle, hitting an RBI double in the first, a solo home run in the third and a run-scoring triple in the fifth.  He then drew a two-out walk in the seventh before hitting an infield pop-up in the ninth.  Winthrop's seventh and eighth hitters in the lineup also had big days, with Adam Gliebe going 3 for 4 and Patrick Gamblin collecting four hits in four at bats, including a second-inning home run.

No Keydet had multiple hits in the contest, with Sam Roberts and Chase Worthington collecting the only two knocks that didn't leave the park.  Spangenberg and Ballard each hit two-run home runs, as Ballard's shot into the night was his 18th of the season and 41st of his career.

"I thought we pitched well enough to win the ballgame," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry.  "When you punch out 12 times, you usually don't have an opportunity to score runs, and we didn't.  We scored runs in bunches on home runs, and we had opportunities to do more, but we took passes on good pitches to hit.  I was really disappointed in our energy level tonight and in the way we came out and competed.  It's the first time all year that I felt like we didn't compete in any facet of the game."

Winthrop took a 1-0 advantage in the first inning, when Thielepape's double off the center field wall plated Tyler Cook, who reached with a one-out single.  Lopez then loaded the bases with a walk, but caught a break when Gliebe's bouncer to shortstop hit Thielepape as he broke to third base, leaving the bases loaded.

Each team collected a long ball in the second, as Gamblin opened the top of the inning with his fifth of the year, followed by Sullivan's 10th of the year in the bottom-half.  The home run derby continued with two outs in the top of the third, as Thielepape connected to put the visitors up, 3-1.

The Eagles threatened again in the fourth, putting runners at the corners with no outs, when Tyler McBride dropped down a safety squeeze bunt.  Gliebe tried to score, but Lopez charged the ball and flipped it home with his glove in time for the out.  Winthrop did tack on another run in the fifth, when Thielepape collected his three-bagger to chase home Rohan.

D'Angelo, meanwhile, retired 13 of the next 14 hitters after allowing Sullivan's home run, with a walk issued to Roberts as the lone base runner.  That string came to an end with one out in the sixth, when Roberts doubled to deep center field.  Two batters later, Ballard crushed his home run to once again cut the margin to one, 4-3.

Winthrop answered with a key rally in the eighth.  With reliever Chris Duty on the mound, the Eagles led off with a pair of knocks to the left-side of the infield, before a sacrifice fly moved both runners into scoring position with one out.  John Garrett relieved Duty and uncorked a wild pitch to score the first run, before a Sean Sullivan double past a drawn-in infield pushed the advantage to 6-3.

VMI would not go quietly, however.  Chase Worthington led off the home-half of the eighth with his first hit of the game, a single up the middle, but was picked off by Mizenko with a 2-0 count to pinch-hitter George Piccirilli.  Mizenko walked Piccirilli on four pitches, then after inducing a groundout of Roberts, allowed Spangenberg's right-field blast that made it a 6-5 contest.  Both offenses went 1-2-3 in the ninth to cap a game that lasted just 2:46, but was delayed twice for a total of 1:40 due to lightning and rain in the area.

The Keydets and Eagles play game two of the series Saturday evening, with first pitch set for 6 p.m.

Keydet Quick Hits

• With his home run Friday evening, Cory Spangenberg is tied for the most total bases in a single season at VMI with 129 with Robert Crumpler '07.
• Jordan Ballard (54) and Graham Sullivan (51) are the first set of VMI teammates to each have 50+ RBIs in a single season.
• The 2010 team now has 112 doubles, which ties them with the 2000 and 2007 squads for the most doubles in a single season in VMI history.