LEXINGTON, Va. - The VMI Keydets drew a school-record tying 13 walks and stole six bases, including their first steal of home since 2009, en route to a 10-6 win over the James Madison Dukes in non-conference baseball action Tuesday night in Lexington, Va.
JMU (18-30) had a 2-1 lead after one inning thanks to a Chad Carroll home run, but Trey Jones walked five Keydets in the third inning and was touched for four runs on only one hit. The Keydets (18-27) would not trail again on a night that saw them draw 13 walks for the fourth time in school history and the second time in as many seasons.
The six stolen bases included four by Brandon Angus, one shy of the school record, and among Angus' quartet was a steal of home on a play that eventually resulted in a balk. It was VMI's first steal of home since Graham Sullivan did it on March 9, 2009.
On the mound, starter Micah Gorman (1-1) picked up his first career win by going five innings. He allowed only Carroll's two-run home run through the first four frames, but was touched for three additional runs in the fifth and wound up giving up five runs on six hits. Jones dropped to 0-2 with the loss for the Dukes on a JMU staff day.
With a crucial conference series starting Thursday at Western Carolina, head coach Jonathan Hadra went with an unusual lineup that included Peyton Maddox, Brian Dudeck Jr. and Gary LeClair, who had combined for just 25 at-bats all season. That squad fell behind early, when Gorman walked leadoff hitter Kevin Husum and, after a passed ball, Carroll hit a 1-1 pitch off the scoreboard for his fourth home run of the year and a 2-0 JMU lead.
VMI got one of those runs back in the bottom half, when Angus led off with a home run to right center to make it 2-1. The Keydets next scored in the fourth, when Angus walked with one out and stole second. Jordan Tarsovich walked, his 98th career free pass, and David Geary was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Will Connerley then cleared them with a three-run triple to right center to put VMI up, 4-2. Connerley would eventually come in to score on a wild pitch for a 5-2 Keydet advantage.
The Keydets added on in the fourth, and did so without a hit. Angus walked and stole second once again, and one out later, a wild pitch on a strikeout allowed him to score. Geary was caught stealing, but Connerley, Collin Fleischer and Maddox all walked to load the bases. Connerley then scored on a wild pitch to make it a 7-2 game.
The Dukes scored three in the fifth to draw within 7-5, but VMI opened things back up in the bottom half. LeClair walked and Drew Bryan reached when pitcher Eric Yankey threw wildly while fielding a sacrifice bunt attempt. Angus then reached on a fielder's choice and again stole second, and after Tarsovich was hit by a pitch, Thomas Stallings walked to force in a run. With Connerley at the plate, Angus broke for home and pitcher Yankey, flustered by the baserunning, threw wildly and was charged with a balk. On the continuation, Angus was credited with a steal of home.
LeClair plated a run with a RBI single in the eighth, and the Dukes capped the scoring in the ninth with a single run off Taylor Edens to account for the final margin.
Offensively, no Keydet had a multi-hit day, but five VMI hitters drew two walks. That included Connerley, who scored two runs and drove in three more, and Angus, who scored four runs and drove in another. Connerley is now hitting .429 with seven extra-base hits over VMI's last six games.
Carroll went 3 for 4 to lead James Madison.
VMI baseball wraps up its regular season with a three-game series at Western Carolina. First pitch of the opener is set for 5 p.m. Thursday in Cullowhee, N.C.
