LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball (21-19, 4-5 SoCon) notched its third-straight victory after taking down James Madison University (21-15, 7-8 Sun Belt) at Gray-Minor Stadium Wednesday night.
The Keydets put up nine runs through the second inning on the way to defeating the Dukes, who are ranked 25th in the nation in RPI. With the 10-9 win, VMI evens the season series, bouncing back from the loss versus JMU earlier this season.
Key Stats
- VMI scored 10 RBI, the eighth double-digit RBI game this season
-
Grayson Fitzwater hammered a pair of home runs, one a grand slam, with a career-high seven RBI
-
Trey Morgan,
Owen Prince, and Fitzwater nabbed two hits apiece
- Morgan led the Keydets in scoring with three runs
-
Justin Starke and Morgan each tallied two walks
-
Derrell Fletcher-Knight recorded his first win of the season on the mound, going one inning in relief
- Morgan extended his on-base streak to 26 games, tied for the most in his career
- First win over JMU since 2021 and snaps six-game winless streak against the Dukes
Scoring Summary
- Keydets' bats woke up early, nabbing three runs in the first inning after Starke singled in a run followed by a Fitzwater bomb to center field
- JMU rebounded with an RBI in the second, but VMI fired back with six runs
- Prince powered a solo shot to start the scoring while
Brett Cook forced in a run on a hit by pitch right before Fitzwater belted his second-career grand slam
- Both sides traded blows in the fourth inning with the Dukes getting a run and the Keydets securing another with Morgan scoring on a sacrifice fly
- The tables turned throughout the rest of the game as JMU scored seven unanswered runs before VMI shut the door in the ninth
Next Up for the Keydets
- Keydets continue the homestand on Friday with a three-game set against Southern Conference foe, The Citadel
- Broadcast for all three games will be live on ESPN+
- Friday's game will start at 6 p.m., Saturday's contest will begin at 3 p.m., and Sunday's matchup will commence at 1 p.m.
- Before Saturday's game, VMI will dedicate its field with an on-field ceremony
