February 27, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. – The 2009 college baseball season is only six games old for Virginia Commonwealth University, but one thing is for sure, the Rams can hit.

The Blackbirds of Long Island University learned that the hard way as the Black & Gold picked up a doubleheader sweep of LIU with wins of 10-6 and 9-4 on Friday afternoon at The Diamond.

The Rams have now won three straight to improve to 4-2 on the year, while Long Island drops its first two games of the season to fall to 0-2.

“I was pleased with our effort today,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “A lot of different guys contributed offensively and we were solid on the mound for the majority of the afternoon.”

VCU wasted little time displaying its offensive prowess as junior Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) led off the game with a bunt single and moved to second when freshman Josh Alford (Midlothian, Va.) blasted a single into left centerfield.

After a sac bunt moved both runners up a base, senior R.J. Schenk (Yorktown, Va.) (left) gave the Black & Gold an early 1-0 advantage with an RBI groundout.

The Rams took advantage of some Long Island miscues in the second as back-to-back fielding errors by the Blackbirds shortstop would allow two runs to score and Dimino would drive in two more with a two-RBI double into deep centerfield as VCU pushed the lead to 5-0.

The two teams would exchange runs in the third inning, but junior Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo.) was able to give the Rams their largest lead of the game with a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the fourth for a 7-1 VCU advantage.

Long Island got an unearned run in the top of the seventh, but the Black & Gold answered right back as senior Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) brought home Schenk on an RBI groundout.

After the Blackbirds got another run in the top of the eighth, Dimino and Alford each picked up RBI singles to give the Rams a 10-3 cushion entering the top of the ninth.

LIU tacked on five hits and three runs in the final frame, but Alford was able to settle down in his first collegiate pitching appearance to preserve the 10-6 VCU victory.

Game two saw one of the most highly touted southpaws, James Jones, on the East Coast take the mound for Long Island.

The Rams showed no fear as Dimino was hit by a pitch to lead of the bottom of first and quickly stole second and third. Schenk (right) would be the RBI guy once again as he lofted a sacrifice fly to left field to give VCU a 1-0 lead.

LIU struck back as Tyler Jones delivered an RBI groundout to even the score at 1-1.

The Blackbirds would keep the offensive pressure as Julian Kenner drove in James Jones with an RBI single and Frank Dimasi sent an RBI triple to deep centerfield to give LIU its first lead at 3-1. Long Island picked up another unearned run to close out the top of the third with a 4-1 advantage.

With Jones settling in on the hill it looked as if the Black & Gold would be in for a tough nightcap, but the bottom of the VCU lineup had different ideas.

Sophomore Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) scorched a one-out single through the right side and moved around to third after Wright laced a double down the right field line. After senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) plated Van Meter with an RBI groundout, junior Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) smoked a two-RBI triple off the centerfield wall to even the score at 4-4.

”The best thing that I’ve seen with this lineup so far is the ability to produce runs in every part of the order,” Keyes said. “We have six different guys with at least five RBIs in just six games, that’s tremendous.”

VCU would put the game away in the bottom of the sixth when Rodriguez singled, junior Matt Leskiw (Plains, Pa.) was hit by a pitch and Gonzalez was walked to load the bases with no outs.

After Jones exited from the game, Dimino kept the rally going with an RBI single through the right side of the infield to reclaim the lead in the Rams’ favor, 5-4. Alford pushed it to 6-4 with an RBI single of his own and Otto got into the act with a two-RBI single. Van Meter rounded out the five-run inning with an RBI double over the centerfield’s head to score Alford and give the Black & Gold a 9-4 lead.

That was all freshman Kyle Pelchy (Yorktown, Va.) as the youngster struck out the side to pick up the double-header sweep.

On the day, Dimino and Alford combined for nine hits, five runs, seven RBIs and four stolen bases to lead a potent offensive attack.

“When you get that type of production out of the top of your lineup, you’re probably going to win,” Keyes said. “Both Andrew and Josh had great at-bats all day.”

Senior southpaw Ian Thomas (Virginia Beach, Va.) (1-0) picked up the win on the mound in game one, tossing four innings and only giving up one hit and one earned run, while striking out five Blackbird hitters.

“We liked what we saw from Ian today,” Keyes said. “He’s still on his way back to being 100% after going through some injuries so he’s on a pitch count, but I thought he showed just how affective he can be.”

Pelchy (1-0) came out of the bullpen to pick up his first collegiate victory in game two, allowing just one hit and striking out four in two innings of work.

The two teams return to The Diamond on Saturday afternoon with a 2 p.m. contest on the docket.