FINAL: VCU 5 (7-7), Penn 1 (1-7)

LOCATION: The Diamond – Richmond, Va.

VCU STARTERS: Farrar (CF), Bunn (LF), Davis (3B), Machin (SS), Carpenter (1B), Acker (RF), Dressler (DH), Coale (C), Berezo (2B), Blanchard (SP).

PENN STARTERS: Tesch (CF), Bossart (C), Greskoff (DH), Montaldo (SS), McKinnon (1B), McGarry (3B), Levison (LF), Mincher (2B), Murnane (RF), Hammonds (SP)

THE BASICS: A 5 hour and 15 minute-long rain delay and a game suspension due to fog did nothing to hinder VCU's ability to sweep its midweek series against Penn with the Rams taking the second game 5-1. Matt Blanchard tossed six innings of one-hit ball while allowing the Quakers' only run, with Matt Lees and Tyler Buckley contributing great performances out of the bullpen. Offensively Darian Carpenter had quite the day, going 3-for-4 including a 3-run home run that gave VCU the lead in the bottom of the sixth. Vimael Machin drove in the other two runs on a triple in the seventh inning just as the fog was thickening in the outfield.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• The first five innings were about as fast paced a pitchers' duel as you're likely to see, with the teams combining for just four hits (all coming from VCU); just an hour had passed by and the game was heading into the top of the sixth inning. During this time Blanchard had thrown five innings of no-hit baseball with nine strikeouts. For the season he now has 36 K's and opponents are hitting just .181 off of the righty.
• In the top of the sixth Penn would strike first. A leadoff double by Ryan Mincher was followed by a sacrifice bunt that moved him over to third. He would score by tagging up on a fly ball to left field- that was caught by a diving James Bunn- that would put Penn ahead 1-0.
• Something sparked the Rams going into the bottom half of the frame; Bunn led off with a double and advanced to third on a deep flyout to right field. Machin walked and Carpenter followed up with a three-run bomb to left field that put VCU ahead 3-1.
• The next runs would come in the bottom of the seventh when Machin drove in Bunn and Matt Davis with a bases-clearing triple. While there is no doubt the ball was well hit, it was around this time in the game that the fog was beginning to settle down closer to the field and it was having a clear effect on the game's fielders.
• The final straw for the umpires came in the top of the eighth when a double by Penn's Andrew Murnane came as an obviously direct result of the fog affecting the outfielders' visibility. After a short delay, the game was suspended with one out in the top of the eighth.
• At 2:00 today, Thursday, the game was picked up again with Tyler Buckley taking the place of Matt Lees on the mound. Buckley tossed an inning and two-thirds of shutout ball while working himself out of a little jam in the eighth en route to a 5-1 VCU victory to complete the sweep of Penn.

QUOTABLE: "First off congratulations to the guys; we've had a long first month of the season so it's encouraging to look up and see us sitting at 7-7. It was a tough situation today with them having two plate appearances to our one, so we were fortunate to have that 5-1 lead coming in. Tyler Bucklet did a great job battling today, especially starting off with a guy already on base. Logan Farrar made a great defensive play out in centerfield in the eighth inning and we came out of the ninth with a victory. Again it was a tough situation coming in today for a continuation and playing for just half an hour, but the guys did a phenomonal job of coming in prepared and ready to play." -Assistant Coach Steve Hay

UP NEXT: James Madison, Minnesota, and Monmouth come to town for the PK5 Classic at the Diamond. VCU is currently scheduled to open up against Monmouth on Friday at 6:30.