LEXINGTON, Va.- Presbyterian College wrapped up its 2010 season by sweeping a doubleheader from VMI, winning games by the scores of 23-7 and 6-0 in Big South Conference play Friday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium. The Blue Hose conclude their season at 15-39 overall and 7-20 in Big South play, while the Keydets fall to 32-20 on the season and 13-14 in the league.
The sweep, along with an extra-inning victory by High Point earlier in the day, assures HPU of the fourth seed in next week's Big South Championship, while forcing VMI into either the fifth or sixth seed. The Keydets will now open postseason play on Tuesday, taking on either UNC Asheville or Gardner-Webb.
In game one, PC scored in each of the first five innings, going up 13-3 in the fifth inning with its second straight four-run frame. The Blue Hose then sent 15 men to the plate in the eighth inning, blowing the game open by scoring 10 more runs.
The victory went to starter Joe Hammond (1-6), who allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings. Keydet starter Jason Farley (4-4) was charged five runs, four earned, in two-plus innings, allowing six hits. He was the first of six VMI hurlers to see action in the game, with each of the first five charged at least three runs, before Andrew Deal retired five of the six batters he faced.
The hitting stars were many for the visitors in the contest, as Nate Horton went 5 for 7 with five runs scored and three RBIs, Aaron Preston was 4 for 6 with four RBIs and Tony Micklon was 3 for 4 with four runs scored. Gabe Grammer had two doubles a triple for his three hits, scoring thrice, while Jesse Harmon also crossed the plate three times, going 3 for 5.
VMI shortstop Steele Myers went 3 for 5 with a double and a run scored, while fellow sophomores Chase Worthington and George Piccirilli each had a hit and drove home a pair. Alex Haitsuka accounted for the Keydets' only other extra-base knock, a fifth-inning double.
"In game one, we just couldn't stop them," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "They kept hitting balls hard, and you tip your cap to them, they put some good swings on some good pitches."
In the nightcap, PC starter Andrew Foushee (1-5) was the story, hurling the team's only complete game of the season in a four-hit shutout. The sophomore retired the final 16 batters of the contest, striking out 10 while walking two in his fifth start of the season.
He was aided by an opportunistic Blue Hose offense that scored six runs on just four hits. Keydet starter Sam Roberts (6-4) took the loss by allowing four runs, two earned, on one hit through three innings. Miles McQuaig came on to work the next three innings, allowing two runs while striking out a career-best six, before Michael Devine and Ryan Barefoot combined to work three perfect innings.
"In game two, credit Andrew Foushee, he did a great job," said Ikenberry. "We knew Sammy was going to go out there on a short pitch count, and he left with four runs on one hit. You don't see that often, where you give up six runs on four hits. I thought our guys played hard tonight, but unfortunately, we didn't win the ballgame. We've got to get ourselves ready for the tournament, and that's what we plan on doing."
PC moved on top in the second, when Micklon led off by being hit by a pitch. That was followed by a walk to Kenny Bryant, before the pair moved up on a groundout. The first run of the game came across on an infield error, before another scored on a groundout. Preston delivered an RBI double to push the lead to 3-0 on PC's first hit of the contest.
The visitors made it a 4-0 contest in the third when Grammer opened the frame when he was hit by a pitch before scoring on Bryant's groundout. McQuaig then came on and surrendered solo home runs to Harmon and Micklon, before the final three relievers combined to retire the final 14 Blue Hose that came to the plate.
VMI, meanwhile, managed six base runners on the night, coming on three singles, two walks and a double. The Keydets had two men aboard in the first, third and fourth innings, but had just two men reach third base all evening. Sam Roberts went 1 for 3 with a double and a walk to mark the only Keydet to reach base more than once.
The Big South Championship begins Tuesday afternoon in Rock Hill, S.C. with single elimination games pitting the fifth and eighth seeds in one contest and the sixth and seventh seeds in another. The Keydets will earn the fifth seed in the tournament if Liberty defeats Winthrop Saturday, but will fall to the sixth seed should the Eagles win. Asheville needs just one win over Gardner-Webb in Saturday's doubleheader to clinch the seventh seed in the Championship, while GWU can do so by sweeping the twinbill.
Each contest that VMI plays will be broadcast on the VMI Sports Network, available online at www.VMIKeydets.com and locally on Lexington's Fox Sports Radio 1450 AM. Fans can also watch each game of the Championship on the Big South Network, available at www.BigSouthSports.com.
