Diamond-a-dozen — Baseball sweeps URI, streaks to 12th consecutive win
VCU baseball posted a 3-0 record over the weekend after their Wednesday night game against Virginia Military Institute was postponed, sweeping the Rhode Island Rams at The Diamond over the weekend.
VCU’s offense was at full speed on Friday and Sunday, as they topped Rhode Island by scores of 5-2 and 4-2, respectively, but Saturday presented a different challenge. Both Ram teams played a scoreless duel for 15 innings, with VCU scoring the winning run on a wild pitch in the bottom of the final frame. The Rams improved to 16-8, extending their winning streak to 12 games after a shaky start to the season.
Sunday
The Black and Gold used their offense to overpower the Rams from up north on Sunday. Both teams scored a run apiece in the second inning, with Rhode Island adding one more to take an early 2-1 lead in the opening half of the third.
VCU answered right back, however, plating two in the bottom of the fourth and the latter half of the seventh. Freshman infielder Liam Hibbits led VCU by going two for three at the plate and senior Daane Berezo added a double and drove in a run of his own. Sophomore infielders Steven Carpenter and Hogan Brown each added an RBI as well. Junior starting pitcher Michael Dailey went three innings, while freshman Devin Dunn took the mound afterward to tally his first win of the season. Junior Mac McCarty secured the save to raise his season total to 11, tied for first in the nation.
Saturday
Saturday’s game was a nearly five-hour affair, stretching 15 innings with 341 strong in attendance. Senior Sean Thompson led the Black and Gold from the mound with seven shutout innings. McCarty and sophomore Hayden Moore each added three shutout innings of their own. Brown highlighted the lineup with three hits, while Berezo and sophomore Paul Witt racked up two hits apiece. Witt also extended his hitting streak to 14 games, but neither team recorded any extra-base hits and together they left a total of 25 men on base.
Myriad stranded runners defined both teams’ performances on Saturday, including Rhode Island’s eighth-inning effort, which put runners at the corners. VCU’s pitching, however, came through in the clutch and slammed the door on any runs crossing the plate.
Berezo and Witt led off the 15th inning with back-to-back singles, and senior Mitchel Lacey laid down a bunt, sacrificing both runners forward a base. Rhode Island elected to intentionally walk junior third baseman Zac Ching, and the third throw went wide, allowing Berezo to cross the plate with the winning run, closing out the day with a walk-off victory for VCU.
Friday
The Black and Gold reached a milestone of 10 consecutive wins Friday, opening their series against Rhode Island with a 5-2 win. Both teams’ first in-conference game ended in favor of VCU, as sophomore Connor Gillispie pitched six scoreless innings, striking out nine.
McCarty tallied his 10th save of the season and sophomore Brett Willett drove in two runs. Berezo went two for four, and both Lacey and Brown added two hits each. VCU took the lead in the latter half of the fourth inning and padded that advantage with two runs in both the sixth and seventh frames. Rhode Island managed two last-ditch runs in the top of the ninth, but the Black and Gold shut down the “other” Rams to secure the win for VCU.
The surging Black and Gold will look to continue their run of dominance against the Cavaliers of the University of Virginia Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Diamond.
- Adam Cheek, Contributing writer
