LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball (18-18, 2-4 SoCon) makes a triumphant return to Southern Conference action this weekend against Mercer University (17-14, 2-4 SoCon) at OrthoGeorgia Park in Macon, Georgia to close out an eight-game road stint.
The Keydets face their first conference opponent in nearly two weeks, playing seven straight non-league games. Going into the series, VMI and Mercer are locked in a tie for sixth in the SoCon standings.
Game Information
Location:
OrthoGeorgia Park
Live Stats:
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3
Game Schedule and Probables
Game 1 | Friday at 6 p.m.
- RHP
Andrew Jones (3-3, 4.50 ERA) vs. LHP Colton Cosper (4-1, 4.18 ERA)
Game 2 | Saturday at 2 p.m.
- LHP
Trey Morgan (1-4, 5.89 ERA) vs. LHP Graham Yntema (2-2, 4.24 ERA)
Game 3 | Sunday at 1 p.m.
- RHP
Will Riley (4-2, 4.76 ERA) vs. TBA (---)
Last Time Out
- VMI recorded 23 runs en route to a dominating 23-13 victory over Richmond on Tuesday
- Keydets' 23 runs were the most runs in a game and the first 20+ run game since 2016
-
Ty Swaim went a career-best 5-for-6 at the dish with two doubles, two RBI, and three runs
-
Grayson Fitzwater,
Brett Cook, and
Kazuya Jordan hit back-to-back-to-back home runs, the first three consecutive home runs since 2016
- Every Keydet that had a plate appearance got on base at least once and combined for 17 walks, the most in program history
Keys to the Keydets
-
Justin Starke had a monster March, earning him SoCon Player of the Month
- Keydets rank number one in the SoCon in eight categories: walks, hit by pitches, home runs, sacrifice flies, stolen bases, stolen bases per game, K/BB ratio, and K/9
- For the third straight week, the Keydets rank number one in the nation in stolen bases (118) and stolen bases per game (3.28)
- Keydets know how to get on base, ranking 16th in the nation in on-base percentage (.428)
- Keydets rank 11th in the country in walks (205) with Starke leading the charge with 30 walks, the 35th most in NCAA DI
- VMI is also top 10 in sacrifice flies (23) with Morgan (6) and Starke (5) standing in the top 15 individually in this category
- After his career performance, Swaim is 27th in the nation in hits (51), helping the Keydets to a 27th ranking in hits with 342
- VMI's pitching staff has limited their walks to 116 and have punched out over 300 batters, ranking in the top 25 in BB/9 (3.46) and K/BB ratio (2.66)
- Morgan has reached base in 23 consecutive games, the most by any Keydet this season and most in Morgan's career
- VMI hits .730 when there is a runner at third with less than two outs
- VMI is 12-0 this season when scoring 10 or more runs
- Keep an eye on the record book as Starke is just 7 runs away from breaking the all-time runs record set by current VMI Baseball Head Coach,
Sam Roberts
Scouting the Bears
- Mercer enters the weekend 17-14 overall with a 2-4 SoCon record after winning nine of the first 10 games to start the 2024 campaign
- Bears were picked to finish second in the conference
- Mercer is sixth in the SoCon standings, tied with VMI
- Bears are coming off an 11-4 win against Florida A&M
- Mercer is 12-7 at home but has lost two straight at OrthoGeorgia Park
- Bears have only made 22 errors in the field, boasting a .980 fielding percentage to rank 14th in the nation and number one in the league
- Just like VMI, Mercer tends to sacrifice at the plate, ranking ninth in the country with 30 sacrifice bunts, one shy of the most in the SoCon
- Bears' pitching staff has the 15th-best BB/9 in NCAA DI (3.34)
- Producing big numbers on the bump for Mercer is Colton Cosper who leads the team with four wins and eight starts while holding a 1.33 BB/9 standard which is top 20 in the nation
- Mercer's staff holds a 4.97 team ERA, the best in the conference
- At the plate, Conner Todaro (.347) and Jackson Cherry (.344) lead the pack and combine for 58 hits and 12 home runs
- Three Bears have been named SoCon Player/Pitcher of the Week: Parker Lester Jr. (February 26), Graham Yntema (March 11), and Ty Dalley (April 1)
- Mercer is 14-4 when holding opponents to five runs or less
- Bears are 6-1 when striking out opponents 10 or more times
Series History
- Mercer leads the all-time series, 23-10-1, with the first matchup in 1964 being the only tie
- Keydets have won five of the last nine matchups, winning at least once in each series against the Bears since 2021
- Last season, 86 total runs were scored in the three-game series
- These two squads have played 16 times in Macon, Georgia
