Rams lose 12-1 at the hands of JMU

VCU came into Sunday looking to stay alive in the hunt for a CAA tournament berth. The weekend opponent was James Madison.

After splitting the first two games, each team was looking to win the rubber game and take the series.

It was ugly from the get-go for the Rams.

Starter Ryan Crosby (Broad Run/Notre Dame Academy) allowed the first five Madison hitters to reach base before recording an out, leading to five runs in the first inning.

The story of the game belonged to JMU red-shirt sophomore Trevor Knight. Knight was not only Madison’s top offensive performer, but he also started and kept the VCU offense silent.

Knight would pitch six scoreless innings, surrendering only three hits and striking out six.

The Dukes’ offense scored nine runs in seven innings and coasted from there.

Knight went 4 for 5 at the plate and drove in two runs. Matt Browning also had a big day, going 2 for 3 with three RBIs.

For the Rams, Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y./ Arizona St.) went three for four, driving VCU’s lone run on the day with a double in the eighth.

Also grabbing hits for the Rams were Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, In./Greenwood) Brent Mikionis (Powhatan/Powhatan), Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo./Johnson City C.C.), Taylor Perkins (Dinwiddie/Dinwiddie), Michael Cheatham (Chesterfield/Matoaca) and Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico/PRBA).

With the loss, VCU drops to 16-12 on the year and 5-4 in the CAA.

After a game at Richmond on Wednesday, the Rams will return to The Diamond for a pivotal three-game set with George Mason, who is currently first place in the conference.