CULLOWHEE, N.C. – VMI Baseball capped off its road swing with a series victory over Western Carolina on Sunday at Hennon Stadium.
The Keydets (16-8, 2-1 SoCon) played off of the Catamounts' five errors, scoring a massive 11-7 win for their first Southern Conference series win. This marks just the fifth time VMI has taken a series in Cullowhee and the eighth series win against Western Carolina in program history. It is also the first time the Keydets have won their first conference series of a season since 2010 and the first time they have won their first SoCon series of a season since 2003.
Key Stats
- VMI had 11 runs off eight hits with six RBIs.
- All eight hits were singles.
- The Keydets drew eight walks and returned to their speedy ways with eight stolen bases.
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Cole Raile and
Owen Prince combined for five steals.
- Raile went three for five with an RBI and one run.
- Prince earned a pair of hits, drew two walks, and scored twice.
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Ayden Schnarrs reached base safely in all five plate appearances, scoring four times, walking twice, and was hit three times which ties the program single-game record.
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Seth Buchanan had two walks and two runs.
- Every Keydet reached base safely.
- Earning his third win on the bump was
Jaxon Lloyd who tossed four innings in relief, allowing just one run off four hits.
- Shutting the door was
Nathan Hawley who came in and threw the final 2.1 innings with no runs.
- After singling in the eighth,
Boston Torres has reached base safely in every game this season.
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Grayson Fitzwater extends his on-base streak to 19 games.
Scoring Summary
- VMI got the ball rolling in the first frame after Prince scored off a wild pitch.
- WCU answered with one run in the same inning.
- In the second inning, the Keydets posted four runs starting with a Raile RBI single followed by a pair of Catamount errors that helped VMI take a 5-1 advantage.
- Another wild pitch scored
Kazuya Jordan then an RBI single by Prince made it 7-1 in the third inning.
- The Catamounts got one back in the fourth off a sacrifice bunt.
- Schnarrs scored early in the fifth inning before Buchanan stole third and advanced home on another error.
- Chaos ensued on the basepath in the sixth inning after Buchanan purposefully got caught in a rundown to allow Schnarrs to score before being tagged out, extending VMI's lead to 10-2.
- WCU scored five runs in the seventh inning.
- Despite the short rally, the Keydets did not waver, scoring once more in the eighth off a beautiful sacrifice bunt by
Ryan Peterson.
Next up for the Keydets
The Keydets return to Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium for a midweek battle with George Washington on Wednesday at 6 p.m.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
