LEXINGTON, VA- Winthrop suffered its second consecutive loss, falling 7-3 to VMI in the final game of the regular season finale.
“These two games are very disappointing, but they aren’t going to take away from the 42 games that we have won,” Eagles head coach Joe Hudak said. “We have to put them behind us somehow and be ready to play over the weekend. We have always bounced back after going through a dry spell, but it’s very disappointing.”
With the loss, the Eagles fall to 42-14 and at 17-7 in the Big South conference will be the No. 2 seed in this week’s conference tournament. For the first time in school history, VMI reaches the 30-win mark, finishing the 2006 season with a 30-25 overall record and 9-15 in conference play.
Winthrop will take on No. 5 seed Liberty at 3 p.m. on Wednesday in the first round of Big South tournament play in Conway, SC.
“We didn’t do anything well today,” Hudak said. “You have to give credit to VMI. They wanted the games more than we did, and they played better than we did both days. The games were meaningful to us –both to conference seeding, to regional seeding, for hosting and all that, but we just didn’t show up. It’s been a very disappointing weekend. We are going to have to go home and regroup, or the same thing is going to happen to us at the Big South tournament.”
Making the start for the Eagles, Bryn Henderson (1-2) took his second loss of the season, allowing three runs (two earned) on five hits in just 2 2/3.
Michael Bowman made the start for the Keydets, earning his fourth win of the season by holding the Eagles to just two runs on four hits in 5 2/3. Trey Barham got his first save, allowing just one run over the final 3 1/3 for VMI.
Winthrop reached the scoreboard first, getting a run in the first on back-to-back singles from senior left fielder Jacob Dempsey and junior center fielder Tommy Lentz. Junior first baseman Heath Rollins got a one-out free pass and went to second on Dempsey’s single into left. VMI left fielder Jacoby Fields misplayed the ball a bit in the outfield, allowing Rollins to take third, and Lentz’s bloop single over the short stop into shallow center field allowed him to trot home easily from third.
The Keydets answered in the bottom of the inning to knot the score at one and then added another run to take the lead in the second. Center fielder B.T. Good led off the first with a double and scored as first baseman Robert Crumpler sacrificed into left field. Short stop A.J. Yoder singled to lead off the second inning, and after stealing second, went to third on a sacrifice bunt from catcher Chase Buchanan and then scored on a passed ball.
VMI added another run in the third on three consecutive two-out base hits. Third baseman Kelly Sweppenhiser, Crumpler and Fields each slapped singles to push across a run. Yoder was walked to load the bases, but Ryan Schwartz came out of the bullpen to get a fly out and end the inning.
Winthrop got another run in the fourth, pulling within one at 3-2. Senior designated hitter Ben Ehrlich took Winthrop’s third walk of the game and stole second to get into scoring position. A groundout from sophomore third baseman Mitch Saum allowed him to advance to third, and senior catcher Alan Robbins dropped a bunt down the first base line to give Winthrop their second run.
The Keydets put up a four-spot in the fifth to pull ahead 7-2. Schwartz started the inning on the mound for Winthrop and, after getting a quick out, got into trouble by hitting Crumpler on the arm. Crumpler took second on a passed ball, before Fields was dealt a walk. Yoder popped up to Rollins in foul territory for the second out, but a base hit from Buchanan loaded the bases. Schwartz dealt his second walk of the inning to designated hitter Eddie Van Es, sending a run over, and Jonathan Settle came out of the bullpen to walk second baseman Shane Geisslinger and send another run in. With the bases loaded, Good hit a shot past Saum to allow both Buchanan and Van Es to score. Right fielder Klint Reed struck out to end the inning.
The Eagles scored a run in the seventh to pull within 3-7, as Dempsey led off with a double and scored on Repec’s two-out double, but couldn’t find anymore offense over the last two innings.
The Big South Conference Tournament gets underway at Coastal Carolina in Conway, SC on Wednesday. Official seeding will be released Monday morning. For more information, visit the official tournament site at www.goccusports.com.
