Contact: John Hartrick (hartrick@binghamton.edu)

LEXINGTON, Va. - Junior right-hander Rob Hardy allowed two earned runs in 5.1 innings and Binghamton baseball (2-6) scored runs in five of seven innings to post a 7-3 win over VMI in Game 2 of a doubleheader Sunday afternoon at Gray-Minor Stadium. The host Keydets (3-2) won the nine-inning opener 15-4.  

Hardy (W, 1-1) worked into the sixth inning and scattered six hits. He struck out three and walked one before giving way to senior Vincent Caputo. With the bases loaded and the tying run at the plate in the sixth, Caputo recorded a strikeout to end the threat. Senior Mike Urbanski pitched the seventh and struck out three, including the final out with two runners on, to seal the win.

Binghamton plated two runs in the first inning, one in the second, two in the fourth and added single runs in the sixth and seventh frames. The Bearcats built a 5-1 lead before the teams traded runs in each of the final two innings. 

Senior center fielder Zach Blanden went 3-for-4 with an RBI and  junior third baseman David Schanz had two hits and two RBI. Senior right fielder Jake Thomas went 2-for-2 with an RBI. 

Schanz had an RBI double and senior first baseman Brian Ruby added an RBI bases-loaded walk to give BU a quick 2-0 lead in the opening inning. After VMI cut its margin in half, Thomas delivered a two-out RBI single up the middle in the second to push BU's lead to 3-1. Two innnings later, the Bearcats scored two runs on two hits. Schanz brough home another run with a comebacker and the fifth run came home on a double-play grounder. In the sixth, another double-play grounder scored sophomore left fielder Darien Herncane, who had led off with a walk and moved to third on a Blanden single. In the seventh, Blanden stroked a two-out RBI single to finish BU's scoring.

In the opener, the Bearcats scored three runs in the second to take a 3-0 lead, but VMI exploded for 15 runs over the next six innings and rolled to the win.

Four BU pitchers surrendered a combined 17 hits and the Bearcats hurt their cause with a season-high four errors.

At the plate, freshman catcher Jason Agresti went 2-for-4 with an RBI and Blanden and junior second baseman Reed Gamache each went 2-for-4. Thomas, sophomore left fielder Eddie Posavec and freshman shortstop Paul Rufo drove in runs. 

In that second inning, BU had four hits - an RBI double by Agresti down the left field line, a sacrifice fly by Posavec to right field and an RBI single up the middle from Rufo.

The teams will finish out the three-game set with a game at 1 p.m. on Monday.