NORFOLK, Va. – The Norfolk State baseball team fought tooth and nail against Virginia Military Institute on Tuesday, falling just short after a valiant comeback effort.
 
Trailing 9-1 over midway through the matchup, Norfolk State (2-2) accumulated eight unanswered runs across the next three innings to tie things up in the eighth inning. VMI managed to get a pair of runs across in the ninth, however, escaping Marty L. Miller Field with an 11-9 victory.
 
Norfolk State got on the board first, capitalizing on a Keydet outfield error to bring a run in during the game's opening frame. VMI hit a two-run home run to left field moments later, though, the first homer allowed by NSU's pitching staff this season.
 
The Keydets built on their advantage over the next few innings, taking advantage of multiple fielding errors on Norfolk State's side to take a 6-1 lead. After a scoreless fifth frame, VMI added three more runs in a pair of at bats in the sixth inning.
 
Norfolk State began to show life in the bottom half, starting with Cam Mazell's two-out single to left field. Justin Journette got the Spartans going again with seconds, launching a two-run homer into right center.
 
The Spartans kept fighting. Mazell and Journette provided clutch hits once again to drive in runs, as Norfolk State pulled within two.
 
Still facing a 9-7 deficit and two outs on the board in the bottom of the eighth, the Spartans refused to back down. Cam Sturgeon got on base from an infield error, before Jamal Ritter blasted his third home run of the season to tie the game 9-9.
 
Unfortunately for the Spartans, VMI's cold bats heated back up in the ninth inning. Col Garrett singled towards the left field line, bringing in a pair of runs. The Spartans got a man on base in the bottom half, bringing the tying run to the plate, but a strikeout closed out the game from there.
 
UP NEXT
 
Norfolk State returns to Marty L. Miller Field on Friday at 3 p.m. for another home weekend series, facing Saint Peter's.
 
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