LEXINGTON, Va. - Alex Haitsuka and Jacob Morley combined for nine RBI, VMI sent 12 men to the plate in the decisive fourth inning and the Keydets matched their season-high for runs as VMI powered past the UNC Asheville Bulldogs, 15-1, in Big South baseball action Saturday night at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va.
With VMI (24-22-1, 11-12 Big South) leading 4-1, Chase Worthington led off the fourth with a home run off the left field scoreboard. That started a string of six consecutive hitters reaching base. Graham Sullivan had the next run-scoring hit, a double to right, and one batter later, Haitsuka drilled his third double in four innings, plating two and making it 8-1, VMI.
After a pop out, Justin Topping and Rob Dickinson had back to back RBI singles, and Justin Hess capped the scoring with one of his own. When the inning was over, VMI had seven runs on seven hits, and had staked Jeremy Brown to an 11-1 lead. The Keydet starter (4-3) went six innings of one-run baseball to earn the win, allowing just four hits and striking out seven. Dillon Tabar took the loss for Asheville (15-32, 7-16 Big South), as he fell to 3-4.
Offensively, Haitsuka's five RBI fell just one short of his career high, as he went 4 for 5 with three doubles and three runs scored. Morley drove in four runs, including three on a seventh-inning home run, and Sullivan was 2 for 4 with three runs scored.
"Obviously, our offense had a great ball game," said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. "Any time you get nine RBI from your 4-5 hitters, that's a very good sign. I thought the top three hitters did a good job getting on base as well, and on the mound, Jeremy Brown had six solid innings."
The Keydets got on the board quickly in the first. Sullivan doubled with one out, and one out later, Haitsuka doubled to right field to score the first run of the game. Up 1-0, VMI added three runs in the third on a two-run double by Haitsuka and a sacrifice fly by Morley, giving them a 4-0 lead after three frames.
The Bulldogs got on the board against Brown in the fourth, as designated hitter Mike Vaughn homered to left field on a 1-0 offering, cutting the margin to 4-1. It was Vaughn's sixth hit of the series, but he would be retired the remainder of Saturday night's game.
After the Keydets struck for the seven-spot in the fourth, Brown got into a groove on the hill. He would retire the final nine hitters he faced, and left the ball game still up 11-1. VMI added to its lead in the seventh, helped by three Asheville errors and a passed ball. Sam Roberts reached on an error to start the inning, and went to second on the passed ball.
After a walk to Sullivan, George Piccirilli struck out for the first out of the inning. Haitsuka then grounded a ball to short that got through the Bulldog shortstop for an error, and trickled into left field. Roberts scored on that error, and the left fielder uncorked a wild throw to home, allowing both Sullivan and Haitsuka to take an additional base. Morley then homered to left center on a 3-2 pitch, his second home run of the year. It was the only hit of the inning that saw VMI take a 15-1 lead, which would be the final margin.
Following his 2 for 4 night, Sullivan is now hitting .382 at Gray-Minor Stadium, while his batting average away from Lexington sits at .308. With his recent hot streak, including a 12-game hitting streak that was stopped Friday, the VMI left fielder has moved into a tie for ninth in program history in both total hits (198) and batting average (.321).
Finally, VMI matched its season-high output for runs, scoring 15 for the second time this season after also doing so April 16 at Charleston Southern.
The Keydets will return to action Sunday in the finale of the three-game series. Due to possible inclement weather, game time has been moved to 4 p.m.
UNC Asheville at VMI (May 14, 2011 at Lexington, Va.)
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Asheville 000 100 000 - 1 6 4 (15-32, 7-16 Big South)
VMI 103 700 40X - 15 14 0 (24-22-1, 11-12 Big South)
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UNCA - Tabar; Spear (4); Martinez (4); Steible (7); Connolly (8); Collazo and Turner (7).
VMI - Brown; Henkel (7); Deal (9); Haitsuka and Montague (8).
W - Brown (4-3) L - Tabar (3-4) T- 2:32 A - 312
HR UNCA - Vaughn (3)
HR VMI - Worthington (3), Morley (2)
