LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI Keydets jumped out to an early 6-2 lead, but the Liberty Flames scored 11 of the game's final 12 runs en route to a 13-7 win in the finale of a doubleheader between the teams Saturday at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va. The game was also the finale of the three-game conference series.
The Keydets (19-29, 5-13 Big South) took an early 6-2 lead, buoyed by Cody Holder's second-inning home run, but Liberty (26-20, 11-7 Big South) scored 11 runs over the middle three innings to take the lead for good. Four runs in the fifth inning were the difference, as Danny Grauer hit a grand slam that turned the game around, and the visitors added five additional tallies in the sixth as well.
Offensively, Ray Lopez and Matt Winn had two hits apiece to lead the Keydets, while Grauer led Liberty by going 3 for 3 with two home runs, four runs scored and six RBI. Rob Dickinson was 1 for 2 in the nightcap and wrapped up the twinbill hitting .406 with seven games remaining in the regular season.
On the mound, Reed Garrett (2-7) took the loss for VMI, going 4 1/3 innings and giving up seven runs, all of which were earned. After Campbell Henkel (three runs) and Andrew Montague (two runs) had exited the game, John Garrett stemmed the tide with 3 1/3 strong innings, in which he surrendered only an unearned run, but Liberty's pitching staff gave up just one hit over the final four frames as the Keydets were unable to mount a rally. The bullpen work by the visitors allowed them to recover from Trey Lambert's start, as he was knocked out in the second inning, having surrendered five runs and walked three hitters. The initial Liberty reliever, Jared Lyons, moved to 2-0 with 3 2/3 innings of relief.
The Keydets trailed 2-0 after Grauer's first home run, a two-run shot in the opening frame, but immediately cut that deficit in half in the bottom of the inning. Jordan Tarsovich walked, moved to second on a sacrifice bunt, advanced to third on a passed ball and scored on Dickinson's RBI double, making it 2-1.
The VMI offense exploded in the second, scoring five runs, its highest total in an inning since April 5. Lopez led off with a bunt single and moved to second when the ball was thrown wildly to first by Lambert. Nick Dwyer had a sacrifice bunt to move him up a base, and Holder followed by blasting an 0-1 pitch over the left field wall for a two-run homer, his second of the year. That gave VMI a 3-2 lead, and Drew Bryan and Tarsovich followed with back to back walks. Bryan moved up on a wild pitch, and Brandon Angus greeted reliever Lyons with a two-run triple. Angus then scored on a sacrifice fly by Dickinson, pushing the VMI lead to 6-2.
Liberty came back with two in the fourth on an Alex Close home run, and grabbed the lead for good in the fifth. With one out, Ashton Perritt had an infield hit. Bryan Aanderud walked with Perritt running on the play. Matt Winn threw to second as the ball/strike call was being made, and the ball skimmed into center field for an error allowing Perritt to advance to third. Trey Wimmer was hit by a pitch, ending Reed Garrett's night and bringing on Henkel. Grauer, the first batter Henkel faced, deposited a 2-0 pitch over the left field wall for a grand slam, giving the Flames an 8-6 lead.
The Keydets cut the lead to one in the bottom of the inning, when Lopez had a RBI single to score Dickinson, but Liberty added five additional runs in the sixth. Perritt had a RBI triple off Henkel, ending his outing, and Montague wild pitched in a run to make it 10-7, Liberty. John Garrett then relieved, and Cordell greeted him with a RBI single. The final runs of the game would score on a wild pitch and a throwing error, accounting for the final margin, 13-7.
After Friday's series opener timed in at just one hour, 51 minutes, Saturday's games combined to last over five and a half hours. In the finale, seven of Liberty's 10 hits went for extra bases.
VMI baseball will return to action Tuesday, taking on the Old Dominion Monarchs in Norfolk at 6 p.m.
