NORFOLK, Va. – VCU scored all 12 of its runs thanks to four big innings, and that was enough for the Rams to come away with a 12-4 non-conference win over Norfolk State on Wednesday afternoon at
Marty L. Miller Field.
VCU (33-16) took command with a four-run second and added eight runs combined in the fifth through seventh innings to pull away. Liam Hibbits and Andrew Puglielli both hit a two-run homer for VCU.
Adam Collins finished 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two runs batted in to pace the offense for the Spartans (22-22).
The Spartans took a 1-0 lead on
Ty Hanchey's RBI single in the bottom of the first, the last of three straight two-out base hits for the Spartans. But the responded quickly with a four-run second. Steven Carpenter led off with a double before Puglielli ripped a two-run homer down the left-field line. The Rams also caught a break with NSU misplayed a fly ball hit by Zac Ching. The two-out error allowed a run to score, and Hibbits followed with an RBI double.
The Spartans drew within a run in the bottom of the fourth. Collins tripled in Hanchey, who walked to start the inning, and Collins scored when the VCU throw to third base bounced into the NSU dugout.
But Carpenter's two-run single in the fifth extended the Rams' lead, and they added to it in the sixth with three more runs. Ching singled in a run, Paul Witt was hit with the bases loaded and Ching later came around to score on a wild pitch.
Hibbits' two-run homer in the seventh capped a three-run frame for the Rams.
Collins doubled in a run in the seventh for NSU's final tally.
Spartan lefty
Kevin Alicea (2-4) was charged with the loss. He struck out six batters in three innings while surrendering four runs, just two earned.
Danny Watson (5-1), the third of six VCU pitchers, was credited with the win after working two scoreless innings and striking out four.
Hanchey was 1-for-2 with two walks for NSU.
Hibbits drove in three runs and was one of five Rams with two hits. Ching, Carpenter, Puglielli and Hogan Brown were the others.
The Spartans close out the regular season with two non-conference games at North Carolina Central this Friday and Saturday in Durham.