Rams baseball goes 0-3 in Atlanta

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Friday night at the Field at Panthersville was one of those games.

Senior Ian Thomas (Virginia Beach, Va.) was locked into pitcher’s duel for much of the contest, but a six-run eighth inning doomed him and his Virginia Commonwealth University baseball teammates in an 8-4 loss to the Panthers of Georgia State University in Colonial Athletic Association action.

“We knew coming into this weekend that a game can change very quickly in this ballpark,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “It was a frustrating loss in every aspect, but we’ll regroup and get back at it hard tomorrow.”

The loss drops the Black & Gold to 19-18 overall and 7-9 in the conference, while Georgia State improves to 27-18 on the year and 9-7 in CAA play.

Junior Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) got the Rams started right out of the gates with a walk and a stolen base to put a runner in scoring position with no outs. After back-to-back strikeouts by GSU starter Aiden Francis, sophomore Michael Cheatham (Chesterfield, Va.) dropped in a two-out RBI double into right field to give VCU a 1-0 advantage.

Georgia State would not get to Thomas until the bottom of the third when Chase Childers singled to lead off the inning and two batters later, Nick Hogan moved him to third with a single of his own. On a pitch that Derek Simmons went down swinging, an errant throw on a stolen base attempt allowed Childers to come home and Hogan to move to third. While the ball was coming back in from the outfield, another VCU errant throw allowed Hogan to scamper home and give the Panthers a 2-1 lead.

Singles by redshirt sophomore Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) and junior Matt Leskiw (Plains, Pa.) put runners on first and third with one out in the top of the fifth. After a stolen base by Leskiw, a fielding miscue by Georgia State on a Dimino groundball allowed both Leskiw and Van Meter to score and reclaim a 3-2 advantage in favor of VCU.

Thomas and Francis would lock in after that, retiring a combined 16 straight hitters as the game rolled into the bottom of the eighth with the Black & Gold still leading, 3-2.

Simmons quickly changed that as he lifted the first pitch of the inning just over the right field wall for a solo shot to tie the game at 3-3. That was just the beginning as Brandon Williams added a two-run double and Childers topped off the inning with a three-run blast over the right field wall that staked the Panthers to an 8-3 lead.

It looked like that would be plenty for Francis as he induced a double play in the top of the ninth, but then ran into trouble when senior Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) lofted a single into left-centerfield and Van Meter was hit by a pitch. Senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) ended Francis’ night with an RBI single up the middle that cut the GSU lead to 8-4.

After pinch-hitter Nate Furry (Salem, Va.) drew a walk to load the bases, Zach Chastain got a strikeout to lock down the win for the Panthers.

Thomas (4-3) was saddled with a tough loss, giving up seven earned in 7.1 innings of work, while striking out four on the evening.

Francis (5-1) finished with 8.2 innings of work, giving up just two earned, while walking just two and striking out 10. Chastain picked up his first save of the year.

Six different Rams notched hits on the night, with Rodriguez and Cheatham both picking up the RBIs for the Black & Gold.

The two teams are back at it tomorrow evening in game two of the three-game set with first pitch scheduled for 6 p.m.

 

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RAMS FALL AGAIN TO LATE RALLY BY PANTHERS, 11-6

PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. – Baseball legend Yogi Berra once made the statement “It’s Déjà vu all over again.”

It may have been said all over forty years ago, but the statement held true on Saturday evening in Panthersville when Georgia State used another late rally to pick up an 11-6 victory over the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team in Colonial Athletic Association action.

“I’m proud of the effort that our kids gave tonight,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “We played our hearts out, but just came up a little short.”

With the loss, the Black & Gold fall to 19-19 overall and 7-10 in conference action while Georgia State improves to 28-18 on the year and 10-7 in CAA play.

For the second straight night, the Rams got on the board early. Junior Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo.) notched a two-out single and senior R.J. Schenk (Yorktown, Va.) followed by crushing an RBI double into the left-centerfield gap to give VCU a 1-0 advantage.

A two-out RBI single by redshirt sophomore Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) plated two more runs in the top half of the third to push the Black & Gold lead to 3-0.

Matt Van Horn picked up an RBI single and Marc Mimeault followed with a two-RBI single of his own to tally a three-run inning and even the score at 3-3 after three innings of play.

Two Georgia State runs in the home half of the fourth pushed VCU starter Robbie Andrews (Covington, Va.) out of the game in favor of Seth Cutler-Voltz (Richmond, Va.).

Cutler-Voltz would settle in nicely with two straight scoreless innings, giving the Rams a chance to get back into the game.

That’s exactly what they did in the top of the seventh when junior Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) roped a double down the left field line and came around to score on the next pitch when Otto laced a single through the left side of the infield.

Senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) came through with the bases loaded, delivering a game-tying RBI single into right field that plated Otto and even the score at 5-5.

Georgia State would not allow the Rams to stay close long using a five-run home half of the seventh to grab a commanding 10-5 lead.

Otto’s fourth hit of the night, a double down the left field line, plated junior Matt Leskiw (Plains, Pa.) and brought the Black & Gold within four at 10-6.

Mimeault would strike again in the bottom of the eighth with a solo home run to centerfield and Robinson Polanco entered out of the bullpen to record the final four outs and secure the 11-6 home win for the Panthers.

Cutler-Voltz (2-2) was saddled with a tough loss after allowing two earned runs in three innings of work. John Locklear (5-4) snagged the win after tossing one inning of relief for the Panthers, while Polanco recorded his first save.

Offensively, Otto was the story going 4-for-5 with three runs scored and two RBIs. Van Meter had three hits and two RBIs, while Gonzalez notched two hits and two runs scored.

The Rams and Panthers conclude the three-game set with a 1 p.m. finale on Sunday afternoon at the Field at Panthersville.

 

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RAMS COME UP JUST SHORT IN SERIES FINALE AT GEORGIA STATE, 5

PANTHERSVILLE, Ga. – Giving it your all doesn’t always result in a victory.

The Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team found that out the hard way on Sunday afternoon dropping a hard-fought battle to the Panthers of Georgia State University, 5-4, in the series finale of the three-game Colonial Athletic Association set.

“It was frustrating weekend in a lot of ways,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “We played our butts off, but a couple different calls and plays didn’t go our way and this is where we end. It’s not going to be easy, but we’re still alive in this thing.”

With the loss, the Black & Gold fall to 19-20 on the year and 7-11 in conference action, which leaves VCU 2.5 games out of the sixth and final CAA Tournament spot. Georgia State improves to 29-18 overall and 11-7 in CAA play.

The speed of Nick Hogan gave the Panthers an early lead when the leadoff man singled to left field, advanced to second on a stolen base and two groundouts later plated the game’s first run.

Redshirt junior Phillip Deane (Richmond, Va.) settled in nicely, posting back-to-back scoreless innings to match Georgia State starter Ryan Moore.

GSU would get to Deane again in the bottom of the fourth with Marc Mimeault and Theo Asher delivering RBI singles to push the Panther advantage to 3-0.

Junior Matt Leskiw (Plains, Pa.) got the Rams rolling in the top of the fifth with a single up the middle and came around to score two batters later when classmate Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) launched an RBI triple off the left field wall. M.L. Morgan (Petersburg, Va.) followed with a sacrifice fly to centerfield to bring VCU within one at 3-2.

GSU responded with an RBI double by Bradley Logan and an RBI single by Matt Van Horn in their half of the fifth to extend the lead back to three at 5-2.

Once again, VCU would answer when senior Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) crushed a 1-2 pitch from Moore deep over the right-centerfield wall to make it a one-run game at 5-4.

Freshman Kyle Pelchy (Yorktown, Va.) and Will Campbell would lock into a battle of the bullpens, combining to allow just three base runners over the final five half-innings.

Robinson Polanco entered the game in the ninth and posted a 1-2-3 frame for his second save in as many days.

Deane (2-4) was saddled with the loss, while Pelchy was outstanding out of the pen, allowing just one hit over three innings of work. Moore (5-1) picked up the win for the Panthers.

Offensively, Wright, Leskiw and senior R.J. Schenk (Yorktown, Va.) all notched two hits apiece with Wright collecting two RBIs and a run scored on the afternoon.

The Black & Gold return to The Diamond on Tuesday evening in a 6 p.m. match-up with cross-town rival, the University of Richmond.