Lexington, Va. -- The VMI Keydets took the lead early and never looked back as they defeated the Davidson Wildcats, 7-2, on Saturday at Patchin Field.
VMI (4-7, 2-0 SoCon) didn't take much time getting on the scoreboard as freshman Allan Wimmer (Vienna, Va. / James Madison) hammered a pitch over the scoreboard in left-center field for a two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, giving the Keydets a 2-0 lead.
VMI added to its advantage in the bottom of the third on freshman Brandon Massenburg's (Prince George, Va. / Prince George) double down the left field line, bringing sophomore Matt Smith (Chesapeake, Va. / Great Bridge) home for a 3-0 lead. The Keydets scored again in the fourth inning on a single to center field from Smith, scoring freshman Kelly Sweppenhiser (Herndon, Pa. / Line Mountain) to make it a 4-0 advantage.
The lead grew in the sixth inning when senior Justin Briggs (Rustburg, Va. / Rustburg) singled to center field, scoring senior Jason Annis (Placentia, Calif. / Valencia). Sophomore Jon Wade (Marrietta, Ga. / Harrison) and senior Andy Barden (Chesterfield, Va. / Manchester) came home to add to the Keydet advantage on two errors by the Wildcats on the same play.
Davidson scored their two runs in the top of the eighth. The first came off an error by Smith, allowing Alex Entrekin to score. The second run for the Wildcats came when VMI freshman pitcher Tristen Covington (Virginia Beach, Va. / Salem) was called for a balk, bringing Jay Heafner home.
On the mound, senior Phil Hendrix (Richmond, Va. / West Iredell, N.C.) (1-2) allowed no runs and seven hits while striking out five batters in six innings of work, to earn the win. Derrik Wolpert (1-2) was given the loss.
"I thought that it was a great team win today," stated VMI head coach Tom Slater. "We got a lot of contributions from a lot of different guys. Phil Hendrix didn't have his best stuff today, but he pitched smart and got himself out of a couple of tough jams."
VMI and Davidson will face each other again on Sunday. The opening pitch is set for 1 p.m.
