LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball (24-23, 6-9 SoCon) heads to the Old Line State for a single-game bout against Coppin State on Wednesday at 3 p.m. at Joe Cannon Stadium in Hanover, Maryland.
The Keydets are looking to get back on track after a tough weekend at UNC Greensboro. This will be just the second time these VMI and Coppin State have faced each other at Joe Cannon Stadium since 2002.
Game Information
Location:
Joe Cannon Stadium
Live Stats:
VMI vs. CSU
Last Time Out
- VMI had a tough outing against a talented UNC Greensboro squad over the weekend, losing all three games of the series
-
Justin Starke and
Ty Swaim led the Keydets with five hits apiece and combined for seven RBI
Keys to the Keydets
-
Jack Thompson was named SoCon Pitcher of the Week after his stellar outing against William & Mary last week, going 3.2 innings and allowing just one hit and no runs while striking out four to earn the save
- For six straight weeks, the Keydets stay at number one in the nation in stolen bases (152) and stolen bases per game (3.23)
- VMI also ranks ninth in sacrifice flies (29), 13th in walks (256), 15th in sacrifice bunts (35), and 18th in BB/9 (3.46)
- Starke is top 50 in the nation in walks (40), hits (65), on-base percentage (.513), runs (55), and sacrifice flies (6)
-
Grayson Fitzwater has produced a team-high 55 RBI, 30th-most in the nation, and just eight away from breaking the VMI single-season record
- Both
Kazuya Jordan (26) and Swaim (24) rank in the top 25 in stolen bases while Jordan produces 0.65 stolen bases per game
- For the first time in his career,
Trey Morgan has reached base in 33 straight games and has reached base safely in all but two games in 2024
-
Owen Prince is on an eight-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 18 straight games, both season-highs
- Keydets are 17-0 when scoring 10 or more runs
- Starke is closing in on the VMI hits record as he is just seven hits away from breaking the feat set by current head coach,
Sam Roberts
- Six Keydets are hitting over .300 with 40+ hits
- When leading off an inning, VMI hitters are batting .451
Scouting the Eagles
- Coppin State enters the matchup 12-23 overall and 11-13 in NEC play
- Eagles also had a challenging weekend, losing all three to Stonehill
- CSU has swept two conference opponents, one against Norfolk State
- Eagles have produced 85 hit by pitches, the 23rd most in NCAA DI
- CSU also gets on base, posting a conference-high .404 on-base %
- All nine qualified batters have a sub-.300 batting average
- Anthony Divittorio leads CSU with a .297 average and 34 RBI while Damon Gaither has put up a team-leading 8 homers
- Kai Holm leads the Eagles with 42 hits in 147 at-bats
- Eagles have allowed 121 stolen bases off 131 attempts
- CSU's pitching staff has a near 10.00 ERA, the fourth highest in the nation, and has hit 82 batters, the 21st most in the country
- Samuel Nieves is riding a seven-game hitting streak and a 14-game on-base streak while Divittorio and Gaither have each reached base safely in 15 straight games
- CSU is 5-2 when scoring 10 or more runs and, inversely, is 2-13 when scoring six runs or less
- Key to victory is reducing runs as the Eagles have just one win when their opponent scores nine or more runs, but have lost just once when they allow six runs or fewer
Series History
- VMI leads the all-time series, 20-1
- Keydets have won four straight against the Eagles
- First matchup was February 2002
- Last matchup was March 2023 where VMI won, 14-11
- Only one game has been played in Baltimore, Maryland (April 2002) and the Keydets came home with the victory, 28-0
- VMI has outscored the Eagles, 262-84
