*Due to potential inclement weather, there will be a doubleheader on Friday beginning at 10 a.m.*
LEXINGTON, Va. – In the final week of regular season action, VMI Baseball (26-26, 6-12 SoCon) looks to end the 2024 campaign on a high note with a three-game series starting Thursday against Western Carolina (26-23, 11-7 SoCon) at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Keydets return home for the first time since April 21 and for the last time this season ahead of the Southern Conference Championship next week. In between games one and two on Friday, VMI will recognize its 10 seniors for their dedication to the Institute and the program.
Game Information
Location:
Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium
Live Stats:
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3
Broadcast:
Game 1 |
Game 2 |
Game 3
Game Schedule and Probables
Game 1 | Thursday at 6 p.m.
- RHP
Will Riley (5-4, 5.53 ERA) vs. RHP Gavin Mortenson (3-5, 5.59 ERA)
Game 2 | Friday at 10 a.m.
- LHP
Trey Morgan (3-6, 6.04 ERA) vs. RHP Dante Visconti (4-1, 5.81 ERA)
Game 3 | Friday at 1:30 p.m.
- TBA vs. TBA
Keys to the Keydets
- VMI cruised past Radford Tuesday night, 8-1, to earn their fifth-straight non-conference victory
- Morgan played in his 211th career game, the most games played in VMI history
-
Jack Thompson had a magnificent outing on the bump, going seven innings and allowing just six hits and one run
- Keydets are looking to snap a six-game winless streak versus SoCon teams after getting swept by ETSU and UNCG
- For the past two months, VMI has led the nation in stolen bases (164)
- Keydets also rank in the top 50 in walks (271), hit by pitches (88), on-base % (.411), sacrifice bunts (40), sacrifice flies (31), stolen bases per game (3.15), and BB/9 (3.64)
-
Grayson Fitzwater is three homers and five RBI away from breaking the VMI single-season record in both categories
- Kazuya Jordan and
Ty Swaim have 26 and 25 stolen bases, respectively, ranking in the top 30 in the nation
- One of the region's top dual-way players of Morgan enters the week ranked 27th nationally in BB/9 (1.67) and 10th in sacrifice flies (7)
-
Justin Starke needs two hits and seven RBI to be atop the leaderboard in both career categories in VMI Baseball history
- Morgan has reached base in 38 straight games
- VMI is 17-0 when scoring 10 or more runs
- After earning three hits and three RBI on Tuesday, Swaim has now earned 22 multi-hit and 10 multi-RBI games this season
- Riley ranks in the top 10 in the SoCon in innings pitched and strikeouts against conference opponents
Scouting the Catamounts
- WCU enters the final series 26-23 overall and 11-7 in the SoCon
- Catamounts hold the fourth seed but could move up or down one depending on their results against the Keydets
- WCU is 8-10 on the road
- Catamounts are coming off a big series sweep over Mercer and have won back-to-back conference series
- WCU is top four in the SoCon in batting average, ERA, and fielding percentage against conference opponents
- Mason Holton has the fifth-best batting average against SoCon teams
- Dusty Revis has posted four conference wins, the second most, while Dante Visconti and Gavin Mortenson have accumulated three wins each
- WCU has hit 53 doubles and 46 homers against SoCon teams, the most in the conference
- Defensively, the Catamounts have turned the 12th most double plays in the country with 48
- Nate Stocum has belted 19 home runs, the 37th most in the nation
- WCU is 12-2 when earning nine or more RBI
- Catamounts are 18-2 when allowing eight hits or fewer and 14-1 when allowing under five earned runs
- Zach Ketterman leads WCU at the dish, slashing .352/.631/.444 with a pair of triples
Series History
- WCU leads the all-time series, 25-69
- First matchup was in 1971
- Last season, VMI took home a series sweep against the Catamounts on the road with a combined 31 runs
- Since 2018, the Keydets have won eight times against WCU
- VMI has won 12 times at home
- Keydets swept the Catamounts at home in 2018
