February 21, 2009

RODRIGUEZ’S TWO-RUN BOMB LIFTS RAMS PAST UCF, 10-9
Senior blasts two-out, two-run home run in top of the ninth
Box Score

ORLANDO, Fla. – Down two runs and facing one of the best closers in Conference USA, the Virginia Commonwealth University baseball team never flinched. The Rams scored three runs, all with two outs, off UCF closer Justin Weiss to pull out a dramatic 10-9 victory over the Knights of Central Florida on Saturday afternoon at Jay Berman Field.

The win is the first of the year for the Black & Gold who improve to 1-1 on the year.

With VCU down 9-7 in the ninth, the drama began when freshman Josh Alford (Midlothian, Va.) battled from down 0-2 to 3-2 and finally smoked a single up the middle to start the VCU rally. After a groundout moved Alford to second, sophomore Joe Van Meter (Oyster Bay, N.Y.) laced an RBI single up the middle to bring the Rams within one at 9-8.

Senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) fell behind Weiss 0-2, but battled and finally got a pitch out over the plate that he crushed over the left centerfield wall to give the Black & Gold a 10-9 advantage.

”I’ve said from the start of preseason that in order for us to be successful this year we are going to need upperclassmen to step up,” Head Coach Paul Keyes said. “It’s great to see Carlos take it upon himself and do that today.”

Sophomore Aaron Morgan (Sutherland, Va.), who entered the game in the bottom of the fourth, closed the door in the ninth thanks to a smooth double-play turn by senior first baseman R.J. Schenk (Yorktown, Va.).

”We showed a lot of heart and determination today,” Keyes said. “They jumped on us early, but we continued to chip away and thanks to a great relief job by Aaron we were able to get back into the game.”

From the beginning of the game fans could tell it was going to be a great game as VCU wasted little time getting on the scoreboard when junior Andrew Dimino (Greenwood, Ind.) laced a single up the middle to start the game and moved to second after classmate Doug Otto (Jefferson City, Mo.) was hit by a pitch. Schenk followed by smoking a single into shallow left to load the bases. Sophomore Michael Cheatham (Chesterfield, Va.) grounded into a double-play, but got Dimino across the plate to give the Black & Gold an early 1-0 lead.

Kiko Vazquez jumpstarted a UCF rally when he blasted a one-out home run over the left field wall to even the score at 1-1. After Brandon Romans singled and D.J. Hicks drew a walk, Eric Kallstrom sent an RBI double into the left field corner to give the Knights its first lead of the game at 2-1. An RBI groundout by Nick Choto and an RBI single by Austin Smith capped off the four-run inning as UCF held a 4-1 advantage after two full innings of play.

VCU responded in its half of the third as junior Richard Gonzalez (Caguas, Puerto Rico) led off the frame with an infield single and moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Dimino. Otto continued his great start by smashing an RBI double into the left field corner to bring the Rams within two at 4-2.

The bottom of the third saw Vazquez continue to wreak havoc on the Black & Gold pitching staff as he sent his second home run of the day, a two-run shot, over the left field wall to give UCF a 6-2 advantage.

Senior Carlos Rodriguez (Vega Baja, Puerto Rico) started a two-out rally in the top of the fourth by lacing a single up the middle. Rodriguez’s single was start of four straight singles, including RBI singles by Gonzalez and Dimino as the Rams got within two again at 6-4.

Veteran Justin Wright (Yorktown, Va.) was hit by a pitch with two outs in the fifth and moved to third on a single by Van Meter. Rodriguez struck again, delivering an RBI single through the left side to cut into the UCF lead, 6-5.

VCU would take its first lead of the game in the top of the sixth when Gonzalez and Dimino connected on back-to-back singles to start the frame. With runners on second and third, Otto sent a line drive into the left field gap to score Gonzalez. Otto, who was hustling out of the box, rounded first and got into run-down, which enabled Dimino to score on the play and gave the Rams a 7-6 advantage.

Morgan, who was outstanding all day long, finally got touched up in the bottom of the seventh when two hits, a walk and hit by pitch led to three UCF runs and the Knights held a 9-7 lead entering the drama-filled ninth-inning.

Offensively, Rodriguez, Gonzalez and Dimino all had three-hit performances with Rodriguez scoring two runs and driving in three RBI. Otto and Van Meter also had multi-hit performances with two hits apiece.

In two games, the Black & Gold have pounded out 26 hits, 12 runs scored and 10 RBIs.

”We swung the bats great all fall and spring, so we are seeing what we had hoped for,” Keyes said. “A lot of different guys contributed tonight and we will need that all year long in order to make a run in the conference.”

Morgan (1-0) was the story on the mound as he came in relief of starter Phillip Deane (Richmond, Va.) and allowed just two earned runs over 5.1 innings of work to pick up his first collegiate win.

Weiss (0-1) takes the loss for the Knights after giving up three earned runs in two innings.