LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball returned to the win column Wednesday night after handling Radford at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Keydets (21-13, 4-5 SoCon) swatted three homers to roll through the Highlanders, 11-5. VMI has now had 13 multi-home run games and has scored double-digit runs in 19 games.
Key Stats
- VMI tallied 11 runs off 12 hits with nine RBIs.
- Five runs were off home runs.
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James Newsome went three for four, just a triple shy of the cycle, with three runs and an RBI, including a solo homer.
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Grayson Fitzwater blasted his 12th home run of the season, extending his on-base streak to 29 games.
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Cole Raile recorded a home run, two RBIs, and a pair of runs.
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Bradley Garner was three for five at the dish with a double and two runs.
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Boston Torres laced a single to make it a perfect 34-game on-base streak.
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Roberto Velasquez went five innings with five strikeouts to get his third victory.
- Earning his second save was
Marcus Van Alstine after tossing four innings with four strikeouts.
- Eight of the nine Keydets earned at least one hit.
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Kazuya Jordan nabbed a pair of RBIs and two stolen bases.
Scoring Summary
- VMI jumped out to a 2-0 advantage off Raile's two-run rocket in the first inning.
- Radford knotted it up at two apiece in the second inning.
- Quickly retaking the lead in the bottom half of the frame were the Keydets off a Highlanders' fielding miscue that scored Newsome.
- In the fourth frame, Newsome slapped an opposite-field homer to double up the advantage, 4-2.
- VMI poured on four more runs in the fifth inning, starting with a Fitzwater bomb that snuck around the foul pole, followed by an infield RBI single by
Ayden Schnarrs and an RBI fielder's choice by Jordan.
- The Highlanders got one back in the sixth, making it 8-3.
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Ryan Peterson started the Keydets' scoring in the seventh with a triple before later scoring on a balk.
- Jordan earned his second RBI on a sacrifice bunt.
- Despite Radford scoring two runs in the eighth, VMI's defense handled the final inning with ease.
Next up for the Keydets
The Keydets hit the road for a three-game series against the Ohio Bobcats. Game one is set for Friday at 6 p.m. All three games will be broadcast live, with Friday and Saturday games on the Ohio Bobcats YouTube channel and Sunday's game on ESPN+.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
