LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball travels to Spartanburg, South Carolina, for the final Southern Conference series against Wofford at Russell C. King Field.
 
Series Schedule and Probables
Game 1 | Wednesday at 5:30 p.m.
- LHP Jaxon Lloyd (4-3, 6.35 ERA) vs. LHP Dylan Rhadans (0-2, 6.57 ERA)
Game 2 | Thursday at 5:30 p.m.
- RHP Justin Spiegel (0-3, 5.36 ERA) vs. RHP Alec Bouchard (3-1, 6.64 ERA)
Game 3 | Friday at 2 p.m.
- TBA vs. TBA
 
The Keydets (26-23, 5-13 SoCon), who are currently eighth in the conference, can move up as high as sixth in the league standings if they sweep the seven-seeded Terriers and receive help from this weekend's slate.
 
Keys to the Keydets
Last Time Out. VMI was swept by ETSU in the final home series. The Keydets were close to a Senior Day victory, but an 8-0 surge by the Bucs flipped the script.
 
Peterbilt Tough. Ryan Peterson had a stellar week, slashing .692/1.154/.765, while going 9-13 at the dish. Peterson tacked on four doubles and a triple with seven RBIs. He was also hit by four pitches. Behind the plate, Peterson fielded a perfect 1.000 with 22 putouts and two assists.
 
The Legacy Continues. With two home runs and four RBIs at the Peninsula Classic, Grayson Fitzwater has moved to the top in VMI history with 157 career RBIs.
 
Runs Boston Batted In. VMI's new single-season RBI and runs leader was crowned as Boston Torres broke both records against ETSU. Torres has tallied 64 RBIs and 65 runs, both ranking in the top 25 nationally.
 
Shattering Records. VMI has now totaled 333 walks, 200 stolen bases, 414 RBIs, and 462 runs, all first in the program's single-season record book. The Keydets are in the running to break more program records this season, including on-base percentage, strikeouts per nine innings, batting average, slugging percentage, and hit by pitches.
 
Fitz Bomb. Grayson Fitzwater has launched 17 home runs this season, which is two away from the single-season record he set last year, and ranks in the top 25 in the NCAA. His 41 career homers are ranked third all-time.
 
The Record-Breaking Streak. Grayson Fitzwater set a new on-base record by reaching base in 43 games, snapping Assistant Coach Trey Morgan's record.
 
Speedy Kaz. Kazuya Jordan has raced his way towards the top of stolen bases this year, swiping 41 bags, which stands second in VMI history and fifth in the nation, both behind his fellow Keydet, Owen Prince. In his career, Jordan has stolen 74 bases, putting him at fifth all-time.
 
Regal Spiegel. In his last four appearances, Justin Spiegel has gone at least five innings and has totaled 25 strikeouts. The sophomore standout set a new strikeout career high in back-to-back starts, earning eight and nine strikeouts, respectively, against SoCon foes.
 
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 45 steals, which leads the country, with nearly one steal per game, the third most nationally.
 
Prince of Pain. Owen Prince leads the team with 71 hits and 45 walks, both top five in the conference. Prince is now four walks shy of the VMI single-season record.
 
That's So B-Rad. Bradley Garner has been consistently at the top of the offensive charts. His .393 batting and .509 on-base clips rank first in the league and top 35 in the country. If the season ended today, his .509 on-base percentage would stand third in single-season history.
 
Lloyd Expressway. Jaxon Lloyd has dominated the strike zone, tallying 70 punchouts in 56.2 innings for a stellar 11.20 K/9 ratio, which would be third in VMI single-season history. His career 10.7 K/9 split would rank second in VMI history.
 
The Brand. VMI leads the country with 200 steals, averaging four steals a game.
 
Runs Galore. VMI is seventh in the NCAA with 462 runs, scoring over nine runs per game. The Keydets have scored double digits in 23 games, with nine run-rule victories.
 
Eagle Eyes. VMI has drawn 333 walks, the third most nationally.
 
Plate Warriors. The Keydets are slashing .308/.504/.451, ranking in the top 50 in all three categories. VMI's on-base percentage is first in the league and second nationally, while its batting and slugging clips stand second in the conference.
 
Rub Some Dirt On It. The Keydets have been hit by 101 pitches, the 22nd most, with Ryan Peterson earning 21, the 26th most and the third highest in VMI single-season history. Ayden Schnarrs ranks fifth in VMI single-season history with 18.
 
Small Ball. The Keydets are eighth in sacrifice flies (32) and sacrifice bunts (44).

Scouting the Terriers
- Wofford enters the final weekend 29-24 overall with a 6-12 league record, standing seventh in the SoCon.
- Wofford is the reigning SoCon Tournament Champion.
- The Terriers are 19-6 when playing at home, winning six of their last seven home games.
- Wofford took two of three from The Citadel and Mercer, while earning a win over Western Carolina and ETSU.
- The Terriers swept their first three series (Ohio, Army, Le Moyne) to start the season.
- Wofford is 18-0 when scoring nine or more runs.
- The Terriers have allowed five or fewer earned runs in 31 games, and are 16-1 when allowing three or fewer earned runs.
- Wofford slashes .296/.421/.411 with 100 doubles, 15 triples, and 27 home runs to pair with 358 runs and 300 RBIs.
- 15 triples ranks first in the league and top 50 in the nation.
- The Terriers have swiped 150 bags, ranking fifth in the country.
- Wofford's 41 sacrifice bunts stand 10th nationally.
- James Layman leads the charge offensively with a .369 batting clip, earning a team-leading 58 hits.
- Ryan Wynn has crushed a team-high five home runs and 42 RBIs.
- Niko Brini's five triples rank 14th in the NCAA.
- The Terriers' pitching staff holds a 6.06 ERA with 178 walks and 407 strikeouts.
- 178 walks and 3.6 BB/9 are the second-fewest in the league.
- Wofford has a conference opponent batting average of .323, the highest in the league.
- Alec Bouchard and Dylan Rhadans are set to start this series, each tallying 15 appearances with sub-seven ERAs.
- Head Coach J.J. Edwards is in his third season at the helm after spending over 12 years as an assistant. After a stunning 2024 season, Edwards became the winningest first-year coach in program history and the first rookie skipper in the program's history to take his squad to a SoCon Championship and the NCAA Tournament.
 
Series History
- VMI is 18-28 against Wofford dating back to 1997.
- The Keydets took two of three at home against the Terriers.
- VMI is 7-14 when playing at Wofford in a total of seven road series.
 
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.