Late Rally Falls Short as Marlins Lose 16-15 Slugfest to No. 6 R-MC
ASHLAND, Va. – The Virginia Wesleyan College baseball team loaded the bases in the ninth inning, but could only manage one run in a 16-15 loss to No. 6 Randolph-Macon College in Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC) action Tuesday afternoon.
The Marlins looked like they might run away with the game early, scoring five runs in the top of the first. Justin Erby started the game with a single before Deon Hammond walked. The duo raced home on a triple by Brandon Kussmaul. Taylor Erby singled Kussmaul home for a 3-0 lead, then Randy Neisz capped off the scoring with a homer to left field, making the score 5-0.
Randolph-Macon rallied for four runs in the bottom of the first, taking the lead with two more runs in the second.
Virginia Wesleyan tied it up at six in the third inning, but the Yellow Jackets scored four more in the bottom of the third, with two coming on a Travis Lodge homer, to gain a 10-6 lead.
Mitchell Keeler tacked on two more runs on a double in the bottom of the fourth to double up the Marlin deficit, 12-6. That is when the Marlins would start to rally back into the game.
The score was 13-7 in the top of the seventh inning when Kussmaul homered to left to lead off the frame. It was the first homerun of his career. Following a single and a double, two runners were in scoring position for Matt Murray. The Marlin slugger grounded out to second, allowing one run to cross before David Kennedy singled home the other VWC runner for a 13-10 score.
The Yellow Jackets scored one more in the bottom of the seventh inning to push their margin back to four, making it tougher on the Marlins.
Virginia Wesleyan led off the eighth with a double by Justin Erby. Following a strikeout, Kussmaul walked and Taylor Erby was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Neisz crushed a long drive deep to left field for a grand slam to tie up the game. It was the first grand slam, and first multi-homer game, of his career.
Randolph-Macon scraped two runs across in the bottom of the eighth inning on two hits, taking advantage of a costly Virginia Wesleyan error in the process.
VWC made a final push in the ninth when David Kennedy walked to lead off the frame and David Derenske singled in a pinch-hit appearance. After back-to-back strikeouts, the game rested on the bat of Kussmaul. He singled out to left field to score Kennedy from second base, but the lone run was all the Marlins could push across in the ninth.
Lodge went 5-for-5 for Randolph-Macon (16-3/4-3), driving in five runs and scoring four more. Keeler finished with a 4-for-5 day with two runs and three RBI.
Kussmaul went 4-for-5 for the Marlins with four runs and four RBI while Neisz finished with three hits, two being homers, three runs, and six RBI.
Virginia Wesleyan (11-6/5-2) hosts Lynchburg College (7-13/3-4) Saturday for an ODAC doubleheader starting at noon.