LEXINGTON, Va. - After the Binghamton Bearcats took game one, 7-1, by leading from start to finish, the VMI Keydets responded by shutting out an opponent for the first time in nearly three years, led by Jeremy Brown's six scoreless innings, and took game two of Saturday's doubleheader, 2-0, to earn a split of the twinbill Saturday at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va.
It was the Keydets' first shutout since a 3-0 win at High Point on March 22, 2008. Brown's six innings marked a career-long for the junior, as he allowed just three hits and did not walk a batter, striking out three to earn his first win of the year.
Saturday's game was just the second start in which Brown had thrown more than four innings, joining a five-inning outing March 22, 2009 against UNC Asheville. Binghamton managed just one hit over Brown's final four innings, and Alan Watts pitched a perfect ninth for his first save.
"I thought Jeremy Brown and Alan Watts did a nice job on the mound for us in game two," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "They competed well, threw strikes and did what they needed to do. In game one, Binghamton's starter was great. They've got a good ballclub over there, and he was one of the best arms we've seen so far this season, but I'm proud of how our guys came back in game two."
With the split, Binghamton is now 1-2 on the season, while VMI sits at 3-5.
After the Keydets put men in scoring position in each of the first two innings, Binghamton jumped on top first in game one. With two out in the third inning, Peter Bregartner singled up the middle and stole second. Catcher C.J. Lukaszewski walked, and Dave Ciocchi tripled down the right field line, plating both runners and giving the Bearcats a 2-0 edge.
From there, the teams combined for just one hit over the next two-and-a-half innings, until Lukaszewski led off the sixth with a bunt single. Ciocchi followed with a single through the left side of the infield, and after Corey Taylor hit into a double play, Jeff Skelhorne-Gross singled home a run to make it 3-0, Binghamton. The Bearcats would add three runs in the eighth and another in the ninth, and VMI could only manage a Sam Roberts eighth-inning RBI single, making the final score Bearcats 7, Keydets 1.
Roberts and Rob Dickinson each had three hits for VMI in the opener, but the rest of the Keydet lineup only managed a pair of a singles against Binghamton hurler Mike Augliera (1-0), who worked seven shutout innings. Augliera struck out six, primarily using a slider and cut fastball against the VMI hitters. VMI starter Jason Farley (0-2) worked six innings and allowed three runs, but was victimized by Ciocchi, who was 4 for 5 with three RBI.
Game two saw Bregartner lead off with a single, and move to second on a passed ball. Brown pitched out of trouble, however, and VMI got on the board in the bottom half. Roberts led off with a single, and George Piccirilli doubled him home to put VMI up, 1-0. Graham Sullivan moved the runner over with a groundout, and Chase Worthington hit a sacrifice fly to center field for a 2-0 Keydet lead.
Brown (1-1) gave up a single in the second, but nothing more. In fact, neither team could get a runner to scoring position again until the fifth, when Jordon Smucker led off with a hit for the Bearcats. John Howell moved him to second with a bunt, but Brown induced back-to-back fly ball outs to end the visitors' final threat of the day.
Binghamton did not have a baserunner over the final two innings, as the Keydets allowed the Bearcats just three hits, the fewest they had surrendered since March 14 of last season against La Salle.
Jay Lynch (0-1) took the loss for the visitors, as Roberts and Piccirilli combined to go 4 for 6 with an RBI in the finale. In fact, Roberts was 5 for 7 in the doubleheader, increasing his batting average to .467 on the young season.
VMI and Binghamton will close out their four-game series Sunday at Gray-Minor Stadium, with first pitch scheduled for 1 p.m.
