After falling to George Mason 21-6 on Saturday, the Rams kind of owed the Patriots one.
They used a 17 hits, three errors and a 10-run six inning to return the favor, beating GMU 18-8 to win the three-game series and hold on to its second-place spot in the Colonial Athletic Association.
VCU improved its record to 22-11 overall and 8-4 in the CAA to stay three games back of the Seahawks at the midway point of the conference season.
Sergio Miranda, Scott Sizemore, Tim St. Clair and Pete Farina all homered for the Rams on Sunday.
Sizemore’s leadoff shot in the seventh inning was his team-high 11th of the season. He was 2 for 4 with an RBI and two runs scored. He finished the weekend 5 for 12 with two runs, three RBI and four runs scored.
VCU starter Marcus Davis lasted four innings, giving up four runs on seven hits before giving way to sophomore right-hander Mick Mattaliano, who threw two scoreless innings to earn his first win of the season.
The Rams didn’t need the power of the long ball to light up the Petersburg Sports Complex scoreboard in the sixth inning.
Leading 5-4 going into the inning, the Rams abused the Patriots pitching and took advantage of sloppy fielding, piling on seven hits while the Pats made three errors in the Rams highest-scoring inning of the season.
Kwan Evans, Sergio Miranda and Trai Harris all had run scoring doubles in the inning. After the Patriots replaced starter Brent Hitz with senior reliever Tyler Wingerd, Evans took a 2-1 pitch from Wingerd to left field for his only hit of the game, giving the Rams a 7-4 lead.
After Joe Meador reached on a throwing error, Miranda drove him and Evans in with his two-bagger to left-center. Harris’s three run double came in his second at-bat of the inning on a two-strike pitch from Wingerd.
Harris was 3 for 5 with four RBI and two runs.
Newcomer Alex Gary drove in the winning run in the ninth inning of Friday night’s game to give the Rams a 9-8 win to start the series. The senior first baseman took a 2-2 pitch to right-center field to drive in third baseman Barrett Ripley.
The outburst was the Rams biggest since putting up 10 runs in the fourth inning of a 19-3 win over Towson on April 17, 2004. It came a day after the Rams gave up an uncharacteristic 21 runs to the Pats.
Since 2001 the Rams hadn’t allowed more than 16 runs in a game, but in the past three weeks the Rams gave up 19 to Virginia Tech and 21 to George Mason, both at the team’s temporary home field in Petersburg.
VCU used five pitchers, who combined to give up 18 hits to the Patriots, including home runs to junior shortstop Matt York, senior first baseman Chris Looze, senior outfielder Matt Cooksey, junior outfielder Brett Pomykala, junior second baseman Tyler Youngs.
Pats right-hander Stacen Gant threw five innings, gave up four runs on eight hits and seven walks but lasted long enough to pick up the 24th win of his careers, breaking the school’s record previously held by Jamie Campbell.
The Rams have taken two of three games in their past five weekend series. After a doubleheader against Longwood on Tuesday, they will travel to Hofstra, which took two of three from William & Mary over the weekend to improve to 6-9 in the CAA and 17-22 overall.