Rebounding Rams sink Panthers

For the baseball team, there’s no place like home.

VCU swept Georgia State at The Diamond over the weekend, bouncing back from last weekend’s sluggish road stint at James Madison. After only scoring one run in the series against the Dukes, the Rams piled up 36 runs in three games against the Panthers, winning 10-2, 18-2 and 8-2.

The Rams also notched a victory over Randolph-Macon Wednesday, putting their winning streak at four. The three wins helped the Rams (8-4 CAA, 17-11) pass UNC Wilmington for fourth place in the Colonial Athletic Association.

The Rams set the pace for the series in the first inning of the first game Friday. Junior pitcher Harold Mozingo (Tappahannock, Essex High School) fought off the Panthers, who had runners on first and third with one out and loaded the bases with two outs.

Senior Trai Harris (Newport News/Woodside High School), freshman Jared Bolden (Lynchburg, E.C. Glass High School) and senior Joe Meador (Mechanicsville/Lee-Davis High School) drove in runs to jumpstart the Rams, putting them up 3-0 to end the first inning.

Mozingo struck out six batters and allowed only one run in seven innings of work. Senior catcher Nate Anderson (San Jose, Calif.) also provided power, hitting two doubles and batting in three runs.

On Saturday, sophomore Sergio Miranda (Bayamon, Puerto Rico) highlighted the Rams’ scoring surge when he tied a school record with six runs. He went 4 for 5 with a walk and also reached on an error. He had three RBI, including a home run that extended his hit streak to 17.

Junior Scott Sizemore (Chesapeake/Hickory High School) and Bolden also connected for four hits apiece and combined for nine RBI and two runs in the 18-run blowout.

The runs continued Sunday when the Rams finished off the series with the final victory of the weekend.

Freshman Justin Wright (Yorktown/ Grafton High School) had two hits, scored two runs and knocked in two runs, including his RBI triple in the fourth.

Bolden continued to shine when he pitched seven innings with four hits, one run, two walks and two strikeouts. He also played strong at the plate, hitting a double and scoring in the second.