Baseball matches best start in program history
Behind three RBIs by Cody Acker and a three-run homer by Bill Cullen, VCU topped East Carolina University 8-4 this past Wednesday on a day where five Pirate errors led to six unearned runs for the Rams.
Alex Greer
Contributing Writer
Behind three RBIs by Cody Acker and a three-run homer by Bill Cullen, VCU topped East Carolina University 8-4 this past Wednesday on a day where five Pirate errors led to six unearned runs for the Rams.
Daniel Concepcion picked up his third win of the season behind six innings pitched and seven strikeouts while Matt Lees picked up his third save of the season in a three-inning effort.
“It’s a good win on the road for us against a quality team,” head coach Shawn Stiffler told VCU Athletics. “I think we came out a little flat and slow but we eventually got it going and it made a big difference.”
The Rams have been on a run since falling to the University of Carolina Charlotte 5-4 on March 11.
They rebounded with a 21-14 victory at Virginia Tech, which Stiffler called “one of the wildest games I’ve seen in a long time.” VCU overcame a fifth-inning five-run Hokie lead and trailed 14-13 in the eighth before plating eight runs to put the game away. Bill Cullen had five RBIs while Matt Lees picked up his second win with Thomas Gill picking up his second save.
Two days later the Rams rode Seth Greene’s eight-and-two-thirds innings pitched to a 3-2 victory over the University of Louisiana Lafayette. Thomas Gill got the last out to secure his third save while Logan Farrar, Matt Davis and Cody Acker all contributed RBIs.
“We needed an outing like (Greene’s) to get our bullpen back in shape after a wild game last week,” Stiffler said.
The next day Cody provided all the offense needed in a first inning sacrifice fly as Heath Dwyer struck out fifteen in a complete-game shutout against the University of Buffalo. Stiffler called Dwyer’s performance “one of the better pitching performances I’ve seen here in a long time. You could tell from the first inning he wanted the ball and was ready to go.”
At 17-3, the Rams have matched the 1989 VCU team for the best start in program history. Conference play begins on March 21, when the Rams will face the Bonnies of Saint Bonaventure University.
