LEXINGTON, Va. – VMI Baseball faces William & Mary in its first neutral-site game of the season on Wednesday, traveling to Hampton, Virginia, for the Peninsula Classic.
The Keydets (25-20, 5-10 SoCon) look to snap their six-game skid when they take on the Tribe in the inaugural Peninsula Classic at War Memorial Stadium, home of the Peninsula Pilots.
Keys to the Keydets
Keydets Swept by The Citadel. VMI continued its tough skid in Charleston, falling to The Citadel in a crucial conference series. The Keydets are now seventh in the league standings.
Top Performers. Grayson Fitzwater went eight for 12, including a four-for-five outing on Sunday. The Keydets' starting pitchers were sensational to start the series.
Justin Spiegel tossed a career-high nine strikeouts on Friday, and
Jaxon Lloyd went 7.1 innings with eight strikeouts on Saturday.
Shattering Records. VMI has now totaled 314 walks, 194 stolen bases, and 391 RBIs, all first in the team's single-season history.
Record Book Watch. Grayson Fitzwater is nearing the career RBI record as the junior has driven in 153 RBIs, just three away from reaching the feat. His 59 RBIs this season are closing in on the single-season record he set last season.
The Streak Continues. Grayson Fitzwater is on a 40-game on-base streak and a 12-game hitting streak.
Boston Torres had his 42-game streak snapped last weekend, tying Assistant Coach
Trey Morgan for the longest on-base streak in program history.
Runs Batted In. With 60 RBIs, which ranks eighth in the NCAA,
Boston Torres is four shy of breaking the VMI single-season record set by teammate
Grayson Fitzwater last year.
Speedy Kaz. Kazuya Jordan has raced his way towards the top of stolen bases this year, swiping 39 bags, which stands second in VMI history and third in the nation, both behind his fellow Keydet,
Owen Prince. In his career, Jordan has stolen 72 bases, putting him fifth all-time with Prince.
Torres It Up. Boston Torres has proven he can get on base and score as he ranks 24th in walks (41) and 15th in runs (59). His 59 runs are six shy of the VMI single-season record set by
Justin Starke last season. He has also hit seven sacrifice flies, the seventh most in the country. Torres leads the team with 15 multi-RBI outings.
King of Steals. It only took
Owen Prince 29 games to break VMI's single-season stolen base record after swiping his 37th bag against Longwood. He has 44 steals, with a steal per game, both leading the country.
Prince of Pain. Owen Prince leads the team with 65 hits and 19 multi-hit games. Prince is 14th in the NCAA in walks (44), 18th in runs (57), and 40th in hits (62). His .504 on-base clip ranks in the top 50 nationally and first in the SoCon.
That's So B-Rad. Bradley Garner has been consistently at the top for batting average and on-base percentage. His .376 batting clip ranks second in the SoCon, while his .500 on-base percentage is second.
Fitz Bomb. Grayson Fitzwater smashed his 39th career home run against The Citadel to move into sole possession of fourth all-time. His 15 home runs in 2025 rank 29th nationally and fourth in the league.
Runnin' Raile. Cole Raile ranks 11th in the nation with 60 runs and is top 50 in stolen bases with 23.
Lloyd Expressway. Jaxon Lloyd has dominated the strike zone, tallying 66 punchouts in 52.2 innings for a stellar 11.37 K/9 ratio, which would be third in VMI single-season history. His career 10.8 K/9 split would rank second in VMI history.
Witnessing History. VMI is in the running to break more program records this season, including on-base percentage, strikeouts per nine innings, batting average, slugging percentage, runs, and hit by pitches.
The Brand. VMI leads the country with 194 steals, averaging four steals a game.
Runs Galore. VMI is second in the NCAA with 439 runs and 10 runs per game. The Keydets have scored double digits in 22 games, with nine run-rule victories.
Eagle Eyes. VMI has drawn a nation-leading 314 walks. The top three players who lead the SoCon in walks are all Keydets, while two players rank in the top 25 in NCAA DI.
Plate Warriors. The Keydets' .455 on-base clip is first nationally, while their .310 batting average ranks 24th. If the season ended today, the on-base clip would rank first in VMI's history.
Rub Some Dirt On It. The Keydets have been hit by 92 pitches, the 15th most, with
Ryan Peterson and
Ayden Schnarrs leading the charge with 16 each.
Small Ball. The Keydets are fourth in sacrifice flies (30) and seventh in sacrifice bunts (42).
Scouting the Tribe
-William & Mary is 19-24 with a 12-6 CAA record.
- The Tribe has won six straight games after sweeping Stony Brook, taking two of three from Campbell, and defeating Navy in a midweek game.
- W&M slash .321/.484/.405, with 85 doubles, 13 triples, and 45 home runs to pair with 309 RBIs and 334 runs.
- The Tribe ranks seventh and 11th nationally, respectively, with a .321 batting average and 483 hits.
- Ben Parker ranks top 25 in the country with a .410 batting clip, 75 hits, 57 runs, 20 doubles, and 125 total bases.
- Parker is on a 29-game hitting streak.
- Christian Rush has a team-high 45 RBIs and 12 homers.
- Lucas Carmichael boasts a .384 batting average with 71 hits, the 13th most in NCAA DI.
- The Tribe's staff holds an 8.87 ERA, one of the nation's highest ERAs.
- Daniel Lingle has made 24 appearances, the third most in the country.
- W&M allows nearly seven walks per game and just over one strikeout per game, with a 2.01 WHIP.
- The Tribe has allowed double-digit runs in 19 games.
- W&M allowed 36 runs to Rhode Island, the second-most runs scored in an NCAA DI game this season.
- The Tribe has a .941 fielding percentage, the fourth lowest in the nation, with 89 errors, the nation's leader.
- Head Coach Rob McCoy is in his first season at the helm after taking the role in the summer of 2024. McCoy spent 15 seasons as a head coach and a total of 17 seasons at Niagara. He was named MAAC Coach of the Year in 2024 after leading the Purple Eagles to a conference regular season and tournament championship.
Series History
- VMI is 50-66 all-time against W&M.
- This is one of the oldest rivalries in program history, dating back to 1951.
- The Keydets' 50 wins against the Tribe are the most wins over a single opponent in program history.
- VMI won last year's matchup, 14-5, in Williamsburg.
For more information, visit VMIKeydets.com or follow us on social media at VMI Athletics.
