LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball closes out the 2025 home schedule at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium this weekend against East Tennessee State.
Series Schedule and Probables
Game 1 | Friday at 5 p.m.
- RHP
Justin Spiegel (0-2, 5.40 ERA) vs. RHP Carter Fink (6-2, 3.71 ERA)
Game 2 | Saturday at 2 p.m.
- LHP
Jaxon Lloyd (4-2, 6.32 ERA) vs. RHP Jace Hyde (6-0, 3.64 ERA)
Game 3 | Sunday at 1 p.m.
- TBA vs. RHP Michael Harpster (5-3, 3.95 ERA)
The Keydets (26-20, 5-10 SoCon) are in the home stretch with just six games left, including a home series against the Buccaneers, the current one seed in the Southern Conference. On Sunday, VMI will honor its eight seniors -
Jaxon Lloyd,
Ryan Peterson,
Evan Parmer,
Nathan Hawley,
Marcus Van Alstine,
Addison Clark,
Caden Plummer,
James Newsome - who will be playing in their final home game.
Keys to the Keydets
Keydets Come Back and Defeat Tribe in Peninsula Classic. VMI scored 11 unanswered runs, including a walk-off three-run home run, to defeat William & Mary in the inaugural Peninsula Classic.
Magic Moments. Down to his final strike,
Boston Torres launched a three-run rocket to right field to lift the Keydets to victory. Setting the stage was
Nathan Hawley, who struck out two batters in the ninth to earn the win.
The Legacy Continues. With two home runs and four RBIs in the win,
Grayson Fitzwater has moved to the top in career RBIs in VMI history with 157 RBIs. Fitzwater also tied his single-season RBI record with 63.
Shattering Records. VMI has now totaled 323 walks, 197 stolen bases, and 403 RBIs, all first in the team's single-season history.
Bombs Away. Grayson Fitzwater has launched 17 home runs this season, which is two away from the single-season record he set last year. His 41 career homers are ranked third all-time.
The Streak Continues. Grayson Fitzwater is on a 41-game on-base streak and a 13-game hitting streak.
Boston Torres had his 42-game streak snapped last weekend, tying Assistant Coach
Trey Morgan for the longest on-base streak in program history.
Runs Boston Batted In. With 63 RBIs, which ranks fourth in the NCAA,
Boston Torres has tied the VMI single-season record set by teammate
Grayson Fitzwater last year.
Speedy Kaz. Kazuya Jordan has raced his way towards the top of stolen bases this year, swiping 40 bags, which stands second in VMI history and third in the nation, both behind his fellow Keydet,
Owen Prince. In his career, Jordan has stolen 73 bases, putting him at fifth all-time.
Regal Spiegel. In his last three appearances,
Justin Spiegel has gone at least five innings with five or more strikeouts. The sophomore standout set a new strikeout career high in back-to-back starts, earning eight and nine strikeouts, respectively.
Torres It Up. Boston Torres has proven he can get on base and score as he ranks 24th in walks (42) and ninth in runs (62). His 62 runs are three shy of the VMI single-season record set by
Justin Starke last season. He has also hit seven sacrifice flies, the seventh most in the country. Torres leads the team with 16 multi-RBI games.
King of Steals. It only took
Owen Prince 29 games to break VMI's single-season stolen base record after swiping his 37th bag against Longwood. He has 44 steals, with one steal per game, both leading the country.
Prince of Pain. Owen Prince leads the team with 67 hits and 20 multi-hit games. Prince is 15th in the NCAA in walks (44), 19th in runs (57), and 30th in hits. His .502 on-base clip ranks in the top 50 nationally and second in the SoCon.
That's So B-Rad. Bradley Garner has been consistently at the top of the offensive charts. His .378 batting and .504 on-base clips rank first in the league.
Runnin' Raile. Cole Raile ranks 10th in the nation with 61 runs and is top 50 in stolen bases with 23.
Lloyd Expressway. Jaxon Lloyd has dominated the strike zone, tallying 66 punchouts in 52.2 innings for a stellar 11.37 K/9 ratio, which would be third in VMI single-season history. His career 10.8 K/9 split would rank second in VMI history.
Witnessing History. VMI is in the running to break more program records this season, including on-base percentage, strikeouts per nine innings, batting average, slugging percentage, runs, and hit by pitches.
The Brand. VMI leads the country with 194 steals, averaging four steals a game.
Runs Galore. VMI is second in the NCAA with 451 runs and 10 runs per game. The Keydets have scored double digits in 23 games, with nine run-rule victories.
Eagle Eyes. VMI has drawn a nation-leading 323 walks. The top three players who lead the SoCon in walks are all Keydets, while two players rank in the top 25 in NCAA DI.
Plate Warriors. The Keydets' .458 on-base clip is first nationally, while their .313 batting average ranks 19th. If the season ended today, the on-base clip would rank first in VMI's history.
Rub Some Dirt On It. The Keydets have been hit by 93 pitches, the 18th most, with
Ryan Peterson and
Ayden Schnarrs leading the charge with 17 each.
Small Ball. The Keydets are fifth in sacrifice flies (30) and seventh in sacrifice bunts (42).
Scouting the Bucs
-ETSU enters the weekend 31-12 with an 8-4 SoCon record.
- The Bucs have won their last two conference series, including a sweep over Western Carolina and a run-rule win over Mercer.
- ETSU defeated No. 1 Tennessee in extras on March 18.
- The Bucs are 19-1 when scoring nine or more runs.
- ETSU is 25-1 when allowing four or fewer runs.
- The Bucs have tallied four shutouts, the most in the league and the 20th most in the nation.
- ETSU slashes .314/.585/.423 with 88 doubles, 12 triples, and 96 home runs to pair with 376 runs and 353 RBIs.
- The Bucs' 96 home runs rank fourth in the country, and their .585 slugging clip is the second best nationally.
- ETSU also stands 20th in scoring, 26th in hits, 27th in runs, and 18th in batting average.
- Grant Gallagher and Cooper Torres have been forces at the plate, totaling 18 homers apiece, ranking third nationally.
- Torres leads the team with a .371 batting clip and 56 RBIs, while ranking eighth in the country with 132 total bases.
- Blake Jacklin is on a 15-game hitting streak and has reached base safely in 23 straight games.
- On the mound, ETSU holds a league-low 4.34 ERA with 357 strikeouts and 146 walks.
- The Bucs rank 23rd with a 1.31 WHIP and 26th with a 3.56 BB/9.
- Brady Frederick boasts a 2.10 ERA, the 11th lowest in the nation, with just under five hits allowed per game, ranking 13th.
- Michael Harpster has tallied a team-high 54 strikeouts and has been a part of two shutouts.
- Jace Hyde is a perfect 6-0 on the bump, while Carter Fink has also produced six wins.
- ETSU's .975 fielding percentage is second second-best in the league.
- Head Coach Joe Pennucci is in his eighth season at the helm.
Series History
- VMI is 47-67 against ETSU.
- Last season, the Bucs swept the Keydets in Johnson City, Tennessee.
- VMI has produced 24 victories when playing ETSU at home.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
