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March 17, 2009 RICHMOND, Va. – Heavy rain usually leads to lots of rust. After rain caused a one-week layoff for the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team, the Rams returned to The Diamond and showed no signs of rust in an overpowering 12-2 victory over the visiting Griffins of Canisius College on Tuesday evening. “It’s not an easy thing to come back after having a week off that we weren’t expected to have of,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “I’m pleased with the way our guys responded and jumped on the scoreboard right away.” The Black & Gold pounded out 10 hits and four VCU hurlers limited Canisius to just three hits and one earned run. With the win the Rams improve to 9-4 on the year, having won seven of their past nine contests. Canisius had its three-game win streak snapped and falls to 6-8. Junior Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) got things rolling out of the gates with a double down the left field line. Dimino’s speed created the Rams first run as he stole third and an errant throw by Canisius catcher Paul Panik allowed him to scamper home to give VCU a 1-0 advantage. After junior Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo.) delivered a single, redshirt sophomore Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) smashed his first homerun of the year over the left field wall to extend the Black & Gold lead to 3-0. The six-run first inning was rounded out with a sacrifice fly by senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) and a two-RBI double by junior Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico). VCU continued its scoring in home half of the second, taking advantage of five walks and two wild pitches to post two more runs on the scoreboard and push the lead to 8-0. Dimino’s speed would again play a factor with a leadoff bunt and a stolen base to put him on second with no outs. Back-to-back walks to freshman Josh Alford (Midlothian, Va.) and Otto loaded the bases and an RBI groundout by senior Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) gave the Rams a comfortable 9-0 advantage. The Griffins finally got on the board in the top of the fourth. After drawing a leadoff walk, Brian Gibbs came around to score on a double play to cut into the VCU lead at 9-1. Gibbs would touch the plate once again in the top of the sixth after drawing another walk and coming around to score on a fielder’s choice by Kevin Mailloux. The Black & Gold made sure Canisius wouldn’t get any closer with an RBI single from Gonzalez and an RBI fielder’s choice by freshman Brent Mikionis (Powhatan, Va.) to stretch the VCU lead back to nine at 11-2 after six innings of play. “A lot of times younger teams tend to score a ton of runs early and just sit back and lean on the big lead,” Keyes said. “It was good to see our guys continue to take advantage of free passes and put runs on the board.” A nine-run cushion was plenty for the VCU pitching staff which held Canisius to just three hits, the lowest total allowed by the Rams this season. Freshman Ryan Crosby (Broad Run, Va.) picked up the victory in a pitch-by-committee format in which he tossed two scoreless innings, allowing just one hit and striking out one. Sophomore Anthony Askey (Manassas, Va.) allowed just one hit over three innings, while junior Darryl Stringfield (Wakefield, Va.) wrapped up the win with two perfect frames. Gonzalez led the 10-hit attack with three hits and three RBIs, while Dimino added two hits and two runs scored on the evening. Sophomore Ryan Caldwell (Charlottesville, Va.) came up just one walk short of a single-game record with four free passes and three runs scored in the contest. The Rams are back at it on Wednesday evening with a 6 p.m. contest against the Minutemen of Massachusetts at The Diamond.
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