BASEBALL: Rams swept for second consecutive series

Facing the hottest team
in the country, senior Kwan
Evans (Hampton/Bethel) came
through with a clutch RBI single
to bring VCU back from a 5-1
deficit to tie the game against
UNC Wilmington. But, much
like the trend of the season, a
ninth-inning fielding miscue
allowed the Seahawks to score
the winning run Sunday at The
Diamond.

UNC Wilmington now has
won 20 straight games-the
longest winning streak in the
nation and a CAA record.

The Rams drew first blood for
the first time in the series. R.J.
Schenk (Yorktown/Tabb) hit a
two-out double to right-center
field in the first inning to score
Jared Bolden (Lynchburg/E.C.
Glass), who had walked to
reach base, giving the Rams a
1-0 lead.

An untimely error in left field
by M.L. Morgan (Petersburg/
Dinwiddie) opened the door for
the Seahawks to tie the game in
the fourth inning. Jason Appel
hustled to cross the plate from first base
after Morgan was unable to keep a hit by
Nate Hall in front of him.

Morgan’s error was the 13th committed
by a VCU outfielder this season.

The Rams received a scare when pitcher
Phillip Deane (Richmond/Varina) took a
line drive off his left shoulder in the sixth
inning. Bolden nearly caught the ball on
the ricochet, but it dropped, and Daniel
Hargrave reached safely.

Deane threw several warm-up tosses
and remained in the game.

In the very next at-bat, Appel advanced
the runners to second and third base
with a bunt. Mark Carver followed Appel
with a three-run home run to give UNC
Wilmington its first lead, 4-1.

Deane struck out the next two batters
and remained on the mound to start the
seventh inning. Cody Stanley took the first
pitch of the inning along the right-center
field fence to extend the Seahawks’ lead
to 5-1-their largest of the game. Aaron
Morgan relieved Deane and pitched the
final 2.1 innings.

Sean Holmes (Richmond/Douglas
Freeman) pinch hit for the Rams in the
seventh inning. He responded to start the
rally with a two-out single that scored two
runs but was caught stealing.

Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto
Rico/PRBA) singled in the eighth inning
with one out. Bolden followed with a
ground ball to Hargrave, who bobbled it
before throwing to first base, but Bolden
was called out on the close call.

Another pinch hitter, Nathan Furry
(Salem/Salem), delivered as the sophomore
doubled to left field to score
Gonzalez and bring VCU within one
run. Evans completed the comeback
with a RBI-bloop single over the head of
shortstop Mike Rooney.

The move to use Holmes as a pinch
hitter hurt the Rams defensively. Inexperienced
at third base, Holmes couldn’t
reach a fast grounder off the bat of Appel
as he dove. Rooney scored from second
base and gave the Seahawks the decisive
run in a 6-5 win.

The Rams have lost seven games in a
row, are 5-19 overall and 0-8 in the CAA.
The Seahawks sit atop the conference
standings at 12-0 and are 21-4 overall.

VCU will seek its first road win of
the season Tuesday when the team
plays Longwood at 7 p.m. The Rams are
living the reality of being at the bottom
of the conference with the possibility of
missing the CAA Tournament for the
first time ever.

BY THE NUMBERS

UNC Wilmington (12-0 CAA, 21-4): 000 103 101 6 13 0

VCU (0-8, 5-19): 100 000 220 5 8 1

Hatcher, Roth (8), Flood (8), Harrold (9) and Stanley; Deane, Morgan
(7) and Curtis. W: Flood. L: Morgan. S: Harrold. HR: Carver, Stanley.