Friday's Baseball Roundup

Photo Credit: Mark Olencki

VMI 15 Coppin State 2
MI Baseball had a good start to its first road trip series, earning a 15-2 victory against Coppin State at Joe Cannon Stadium on Friday. The Keydets move to a perfect 5-0 record behind a gem outing by Caden Plummer who went six innings and allowed no earned runs off just two hits and struck out 13 Eagles, the most strikeouts in a game since 2019. Plummer had some help from his offense who stole 14 bases and drew 17 walks, both tied for most in a single game in program history. VMI has now posted double-digit run totals in their first five games for the first time in program history.

Mercer 9, Kent State 5
Entering the bottom of the sixth inning down by a run, the Mercer baseball team rallied with four runs in the sixth inning and two runs in the seventh inning to take game one of the series against Kent State on Friday night at OrthoGeorgia Park by a score of 9-5. The win marked the fourth consecutive victory for the Bears. Freshman Kai Decker (3-for-4) had a three-hit day, including his first career home run, while Bradley Frye (3-for-5) drove in a pair of runs in his own three-hit effort to power the Bears offensively. Left-hander Jess Ackerman (1-0) dominated in relief to pick up the win, limiting Kent State to one run with seven strikeouts across 4-1/3 innings. Benny Roebuck (0-1) took the loss for the Golden Flashes. 

Western Carolina 8, Maryland 7

Wofford 4, Army 3
On a cold Friday evening at Russell C. King Field, Wofford and Army West Point were locked in a back-and-forth pitchers' duel. However, the Terriers prevailed 4-3 thanks to a walk-off single in the bottom of the ninth by Harrison Campi. Wofford improves to 4-1 as Army drops to 1-3. Both teams only used two pitchers. Branton Little started for Wofford, tossing a career-high 6.1 innings with just two runs allowed on four hits and one walk.

Maine 4, The Citadel 2
Maine scored the first run of the game in the third inning with a solo home run from Chris Bear. Maine scored three runs in the top of the fifth from an RBI double and a two-run home run to put the Black Bears up three runs at 4-1. Matthew Lively scored on a wild pitch in the sixth inning to narrow the lead to 4-2, but the Black Bears pitching staff held it down to take game one at 4-2.

Tennessee 5, Samford 1
The Samford University baseball team opened its series at fourth-ranked Tennessee Friday afternoon, falling by a score of 5-1 at Lindsey Nelson Stadium. With the loss, Samford fell to 3-2 on the young season. Tennessee improved its record to 5-0 with the win. Samford was led at the plate by Trey Higgins, who went 1-for-3 with a solo home run to account for Samford's lone run in the game. Jeffrey Ince, Gus Gandy and Cade Carr also had a hit each for the Bulldogs. Miller Riggins (1-1) pitched 4.0 innings, giving up five runs on six hits to take the loss on the mound for Samford. Noah Berry and Evan Steckmesser combined to pitch the final 4.0 innings without allowing a run.