LEXINGTON, Va. – For the second straight game, the Presbyterian College baseball team pulled to within one run late in the game—this time in the seventh inning—but fell short to the VMI Keydets in the series finale on Sunday, 5-4.
PC moves to 10-14-1 overall and 3-3 in the Big South Conference. The Blue Hose next head to Furman for a Tuesday game at 4 p.m., a time recently moved up from a later originally scheduled time. VMI improves to 13-9 on the year and 4-2 in the Big South.
Trailing 5-1 after six innings, the Blue Hose scored three in the top of the seventh and placed the tying run in scoring position. Jacob Midkiff (Rock Hill, S.C.) led off the inning with a single through the left side before Brandon Martin (Gray Court, S.C.) hit into a fielder's choice that eventually led to him taking second via a wild pitch. One walk later, Nate Chong (Duluth, Ga.) hit the first pitch he saw down the left field line to score one.
Jay Lizanch (Greer, S.C.) did the same in the next at-bat to pull PC within two and Weston Jackson (Greer, S.C.) then lifted a pitch to center field for a sacrifice fly that scored Chong. Brad Zebedis (Rock Hill, S.C.) singled to center to move Lizanich to second, but a flyout then ended the inning with PC behind by the eventual final tally, 5-4.
PC moved runners to third base in both the eighth and ninth innings but could not convert to tie the game.
Zebedis and Lizanich each posted two hits on the day while Chong led the Blue Hose with two RBI. Aaron Lesiak (Greenville, S.C.) took the loss to move to 0-2 while Brian Kehner (Marietta, Ga.) allowed just one unearned run in 3.2 innings of relief and Ethan Wortkoetter (Greer, S.C.) threw two perfect innings.
VMI struck first with a bases-loaded walk in the second before PC took the run back in the top of the third on a Chong sacrifice fly to pull even, 1-1.
The Keydets posted three runs in the third inning to go back ahead. A leadoff double turned into two RBI singles and kept runners aboard. A balk brought home the third run of the frame and VMI led, 4-1.
The score stayed 4-1 until VMI added another run in the fifth. A Cameron Walter leadoff single and error put the Keydet in scoring position before he took third on a passed ball. A catcher's interference call allowed a Keydet to reach and set up a fielder's choice that brought Walter home as VMI led by four, 5-1.
Andrew Woods threw six innings for the win to improve to 4-0. The Keydet pitcher allowed three hits and two runs en route to the victory. Walter went 2-for-3 at the plate to lead the Keydets.
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Presbyterian College 001 000 300 - 4 8 2 (10-14-1, 3-3 BSC)
VMI................. 013 010 00X - 5 9 1 (13-9, 4-2 BSC)
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Pitchers: Presbyterian College - LESIAK, Aaron; KEHNER, Brian(3); WORTKOETTER, Ethan(7) and
McRAE, Cam; LONG, Derek. VMI - WOODS, A.; HENKEL, C.(7); EDENS, T.(7); HAWKINS, B.(7);
KELLEY, J.(8) and WINN, M..
Win-WOODS, A.(4-0) Save-KELLEY, J.(1) Loss-LESIAK, Aaron(0-2) T-2:46 A-102
Weather: 48 degrees, overcast, c o/rain
WOODS, A. faced 1 batter in the 7th.
