VMI baseball wrapped up its season May 27, as its Big South Tournament came to an end with an 11-6 loss to #3 seed Winthrop. Despite the setback, VMI had several notable results during the 2010 campaign.

Any discussion of the 2010 VMI baseball season has to begin with April 14’s game at Gray-Minor Stadium. In a contest that was the first game ever between two ranked teams at that facility, #26 VMI beat #1 Virginia handily, 12-3.

It was the first win over a #1 team in the history of VMI athletics, and it came in front of a record crowd of 1,463 fans. The top five hitters in the lineup went 10 for 21 and drove in 10 runs in leading VMI to the win, and that offense was one of the stories of the other parts of the season.

One of the leaders of that offensive attack was junior shortstop Sam Roberts. For the year, Roberts, who was also a member of the weekend pitching rotation, hit .336 with nine home runs, and moved into eighth place on the all-time VMI hits list with 202. He ranked eighth in the Big South in hits, tied for 10th in runs batted in and was named to the John Olerud Watch List. Finally, he was tabbed a quarterfinalist for the Brooks Wallace award.

Cory Spangenberg frequently hit second behind Roberts’ leadoff spot, and the freshman made quite an impact. He ranked in the top-10 in the Big South in seven different categories, and was rewarded for his efforts by being named Big South Freshman of the Year, as well as being tabbed to three different Freshman All-America teams.

The offense was also helped by senior Jordan Ballard, who hit 18 home runs and passed Greg Weddle ‘86 for the most career long balls in school history. The senior slugger ended his career with 41 home runs, which is also tied for the eighth-most in Big South history.  Ballard was then drafted by Colorado in the 33rd round of June’s MLB Draft.

The Keydets also had four All-Big South honorees, as Spangenburg and Ballard were joined by Second Team selections Alex Haitsuka and Graham Sullivan. Haitsuka's selection came after the junior hit a career-high .348 with seven doubles, seven home runs and 29 RBIs. He became the first Keydet catcher to earn All-Conference accolades since VMI joined the Big South. Sullivan hit .357 with 19 doubles, 10 home runs and 55 RBIs. Another Keydet that started each contest, Sullivan ranked among the top 10 in the league in total bases, RBIs, slugging percentage, doubles and home runs.

He enjoyed a 27-game stretch during which he hit .424 with 12 doubles, eight home runs and 43 RBIs, and had game-winning hits against High Point, Lafayette, UNC Asheville and JMU. His selection marks the first time that VMI has had an All-Conference outfielder since Ryan Glynn earned First Team honors in the SoCon in 1995.

The Keydets' haul of four All-Conference players is the most since VMI joined the Big South, and the most VMI has had in a single season since claiming four honorees in the SoCon in 2000. Spangenberg's Freshman of the Year honor is VMI's first major award winner since Sweppenhiser earned SoCon Freshman of the Year and Tom Slater earned SoCon Coach of the Year honors in 2003.

As a team, VMI broke seven offensive school records, as well as the record for most strikeouts by a Keydet pitching staff. The program acheived its highest-ever ranking, a #26 slot. Full information on these, and the other items acheived by the Keydets in 2010, is available in the notes above.