ASHLAND, Va. – Senior Travis Lodge (Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) went 5 for 5 with two homers, four runs and five RBI as the sixth-ranked Randolph-Macon baseball team outscored first-place Virginia Wesleyan 16-15 in ODAC action Tuesday afternoon on Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park.
The Marlins (11-6, 5-2 ODAC) lost an early five-run lead and the Yellow Jackets (16-3, 4-3 ODAC) lost a late six-run cushion.
Senior Mitchell Keeler (Mechanicsville, Va./Atlee) went 4 for 5 with a double, a homer, two runs and three RBI, while junior Herminio Azor (Fairfax, Va./Robinson) was 2 for 5 with two runs and three RBI for the Yellow Jackets.
After the Marlins plated five in the top of the first, R-MC answered in the bottom of the frame. Sophomore Rick Spiers (South Chesterfield, Va./Matoaca) led off with a double down the left field line, was sacrificed to third by senior Christian Sanderson (Lynchburg, Va./Jefferson Forest) and scored on a base hit by Lodge. Senior Nick Maiolo (Powhatan, Va./Powhatan) reached on a two-base error, moving Lodge to third. Lodge scored on a groundout by senior Michael Trentham (Midlothian, Va./James River) to make it 5-2. Azor singled to drive in Maiolo, and Azor scored on a base hit by senior Michael Kroll (Virginia Beach, Va./Cape Henry) to make the score 5-4 after one.
In the second, Sanderson was hit by a pitch and Lodge homered for the sixth time to give the Yellow Jackets a 6-5 lead.
After VWC tied the game in the top of the third, R-MC again answered in the bottom of the frame. Keeler had a leadoff homer, his first, to give the Yellow Jackets a 7-6 advantage. Kroll reached second on an error, was sacrificed to third by freshman Jeffrey Butler (Chesapeake, Va./Western Branch) and scored on a two-out single by Sanderson to make it 8-6. Lodge went deep again, scoring Sanderson ahead of him to give the Yellow Jackets a 10-6 lead.
Keeler added a two-run double in the fourth as the R-MC advantage grew to 12-6.
The Marlins tallied one in the fifth before Keeler had a leadoff single in the sixth, moved to third on a double by Butler and came home on a groundout by Spiers to make it 13-7.
VWC put up three in the seventh to pull within three at 13-10. Lodge singled to lead off the bottom of the seventh and scored on a sacrifice fly by Azor to give R-MC a 14-10 lead. A grand slam by Randy Neisz in the top of the eighth, his second dinger of the game, tied it at 14-14.
In the bottom of the eighth, Spiers had a leadoff single and was sacrificed to second by Sanderson. Lodge was intentionally walked and both runners moved up on a wild pitch. Sophomore Devin Strickler (York, Pa./Eastern York) pinch-ran for Lodge at second. Maiolo was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Spiers was out at home on a fielder's choice. Azor hit a bouncer over the first baseman's head to plate Strickler and Maiolo scored on an errant throw home as the Yellow Jackets took a 16-14 lead.
The Marlins would not go quietly in the ninth. A leadoff walk and a single put two on with none out. Sophomore Christian Cok (Chester, S.C./Lewisville) fanned the next two hitters before a single to left made it 16-15. Senior Branon Kincaid (Hammonton, N.J./Hammonton) took over on the mound with two in scoring position. A hit batsman loaded the bases before a flyout to left ended the contest.
Cok (4-0) was credited with the win, while Kincaid earned his first save.
Neisz had three hits and six RBI, while Brandon Kussmaul was a double short of the cycle, going 4 for 5 with four runs and four RBI for the Marlins.
Randolph-Macon returns to action on Thursday, March 24, with a 3:30 p.m. non-conference contest at York.