FURMAN-VMI SPLIT SATURDAY DOUBLEHEADER
GREENVILLE -- Furman and VMI split a Southern Conference doubleheader on Saturday at Furman Stadium, with the Paldins winning the second game 7-4 after dropping the opener 5-2.
Furman (17-9, 7-3 SoCon) and VMI (7-15, 1-7 SoCon) wrap up the series on Sunday with a game beginning at 1:00 p.m.
In game one, VMI relievers John Sloan and Phil Kendrick combined to limit Furman to one hit over the final 3 2/2 innings to help lift the Keydets to a 5-2 victory.
Furman took a 2-0 lead in the third on a walk and a two-run home run by Adam Etherington, his fifth of the year. Etherington who also doubled and tripled as part of a 3-for-3 performance, extended his hitting streak to 22 games.
After VMI cut the Paladins' lead to 2-1 on Chris Cantanzaro's solo home run in the fourth, the Keydets grabbed a 3-2 advantage on Jason Annis' two-out, two-run single in the sixth inning off Paladins starter Corey Etheridge (3-2).
VMI added to their lead with single runs in the seventh and ninth innings on two-out, run scoring singles by Matt Ramsey, who paced the Keydet attack by going 2-for-4 with two RBI.
Keydet starter Josh Owens (2-4), who aided his pitching effort with a pair of pick offs, gained the victory after going 5 1/3 innings and yielding five hits and two runs. Phil Kendrick earned his thid save of the year after holding Furman hitless over the final two innings.
In game two, Furman starter Tom Mastny (4-2) threw seven innings, striking out six and allowing only two runs in the Paladins' 7-4 win.
VMI took a 1-0 in the first after Ramsey grounded into a double play allowing Ryan Colvin to score from third. The Paladins struck back in the bottom of the first to tie the game at 1-1 when Dominic Frankey singled in Derek Norman.
Furman took the lead in the second after Brandon Barrett scored on a Keydet error. VMI tied the game 2-2 in the fourth on Annis' RBI single to left field.
In the fifth, Furman took the lead for good as Danny Rueckel and Norman scored after reaching on back-to-back doubles. Furman later added three runs in the seventh on RBI singles by Ryan Presnell and Barrett and a Frankey RBI double.
The Keydets rallied in the eighth, scoring two runs on two hits and two Paladin errors, but in the ninth Rueckel struck out the side to seal the victory for Furman and pick up his third save of the season.
For the Keydets, John Sloan (1-2) took the loss after pitching five innings, giving up six hits, five runs and two unearned.
"Tom battled early for us giving the team seven innings of strong pitching," Coach Ron Smith said. "We seemed more prepared in the second game and were able to get some key hits that scored runs."