LEXINGTON, Va. – The VMI baseball team will open the 2022 season this weekend with a three-game series at Duke University, ranked #23 in the D1 Preseason Top 25. The games against the Blue Devils are slated for 4 p.m. Friday, 3 p.m. Saturday and 1 p.m. Sunday.

The Keydets return a lot of talent after finishing the 2021 season 18-29 and 13-17 in Southern Conference play. Picked to finish last in the eight-team SoCon in both pre-season polls, the Keydets finished sixth and were just a half game out of fifth in the conference standings. VMI closed out the campaign strong, winning 12 of its last 21 games, including an 11-7 mark in conference action.

Red-shirt sophomore first baseman Justin Starke will anchor the lineup after an incredible season last spring. Starke earned first-team 2021 VaSID All-State University Division accolades and was the SoCon Freshman of the Year. He paced the Keydets with a .422 batting average, a .525 on base percentage and a .602 slugging percentage. Starke ranked seventh in NCAA Division I in batting average, sixth in on-base percentage and led the conference in both categories.
Starke was named to the Southern Conference pre-season first team, while red-shirt junior outfielder Will Knight and red-shirt sophomore pitcher Tyler Bradt are on the second-team.

Knight, an outfielder, had a .290 batting average in 2021 with .397 on-base and .449 slugging percentages. He scored 32 times and tied for the team-high with 29 RBI. Knight hit five doubles and a team-high seven home runs. Bradt, a right-handed pitcher, took over as the third weekend starter in the mid-season of 2021. He led the team with a 3.20 ERA in 17 games with six starts to earn SoCon All-Freshman Team honors.

Versatile red-shirt sophomore Trey Morgan will be valuable in several capacities. The starting centerfielder hit .326 last year with 10 extra-base hits, a .411 on base percentage and 11 stolen bases. The lefty also will challenge for a rotation spot after tossing 14 games last year as both a starter and reliever. Red-shirt sophomore shortstop Zac Morris hit .286 with a team-high 16 stolen bases. He tied for the team best with 29 RBI and scored 26 runs. Both Morgan and Morris earned SoCon All-Freshman team honors following the 2021 season.  

Last year's freshmen class will be well represented in the lineup. Sophomore Cole Garrett (.241 avg., 3 HRs) should get the majority of starts again behind the plate and sophomore Cole Jenkins (.266 avg., 4 HRs) will open the season starting in the outfield. Sophomore Ty Swaim (.254 avg., .377 OBP, 10 SB) will return as the team's third baseman. Sophomore Brett Cook should get first crack to replace second baseman Callen Nuccio, lost to graduation.

Red-shirt sophomore J.T. Inskeep saw action in a utility role in 2021, playing behind the plate, on the mound and at the corner infield spots. Red-shirt junior Justin Nase will try to earn starts in the outfield while also serving as a pinch runner and defensive replacement.  

The program is flush with 16 freshmen on the roster, all trying to earn playing time. Ryan Peterson and Addison Clark should see early season at bats.

Bradt will begin the season as the team's Friday starter, followed by red-shirt junior Nathan Light on Saturday. He started 15 games in 2021, tied for third in the SoCon, and his 77.2 innings ranked eighth.

Red-shirt junior lefty Will Lopez (4.00 ERA) is used to late-inning situations and red-shirt junior Adam Jewell and red-shirt sophomores Ty Barker and Ben Capehart, all right-handers, should join Lopez in the bullpen. Freshmen Holden Wilkerson (RHP), Tyler Kaltreider (RHP) and Jaxon Lloyd (LHP) will get shots at early season innings.