Score: VCU 10, Rhode Island 4
Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)
Records: VCU 36-14, Rhode Island 28-25-1
 
The short story: Junior catcher Hunter Vay crushed home runs in back-to-back innings to spearhead a late-game offensive explosion and guide VCU into the Atlantic 10 Championship Game.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Vay turned in a monster performance at the plate, going 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits and five RBIS.
• Graduate pitcher Bradford Webb started the game with five scoreless innings, striking out eight batters and scattering three hits.
• Freshman third baseman Tyler Locklear, the A-10 Player and Rookie of the Year, went 2-for-4 with a walk, a pair of runs, and an RBI.
• Senior first baseman Steven Carpenter had a 3-for-6 day with a run and an RBI.
• Junior right-hander Edwin Serrano earned his fourth win of the season, throwing the final three frames of the game and allowing just one run.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• The game was a pitcher's duel for the first five frames, with the VCU defense making a number of outstanding plays behind Webb. In the second, sophomore second baseman Michael Haydak dove fully extended to his left to stop a ball from rolling to the wall, then quickly popped up to throw out the runner.
• Webb escaped a jam with two runners in scoring position by painting a pitch on the corner to strikeout Sonny Ulliana in the third. Junior right fielder Jack Schroeder then ended a scoreless fourth with a diving catch.
• VCU broke the game open in the top of the sixth (Rhode Island was the designated home team per A-10 Championship rules) with a pair of runs. Locklear and Liam Hibbits opened the frame with back-to-back singles, the latter sending Locklear to third. Schroeder's sacrifice fly to left scored Locklear, then Vay's double to right center scored a sprinting Hibbits from first.
• Rhody responded with a pair of runs in each of the sixth, then hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the seventh to take a 4-2 lead. URI starter Mike Webb threw seven innings, allowing just the two runs and striking out five.
• Vay responded with a two-run bomb of his own to right center in the top of the eighth to tie the game back up at 4-4.
• Haydak followed Vay with a double down the left field line, advanced to third on a Connor Hujsak single, then scored on a Hogan Brown sacrifice fly to put VCU in front 5-4.
• Three consecutive RBI singles from Carpenter, Locklear, and Hibbits pushed the lead to 8-4 as VCU batted around in the eighth.
• Vay put an exclamation point on the win, sending a two-run homer over the wall for the second straight inning in the ninth.

 
NOTABLE

• In two games of the A-10 Championship, Vay has hit three home runs for a total of nine RBIs.
• VCU extended its program-record winning streak to 20 games.
• The Black and Gold set a season high with 18 hits.

 
UP NEXT
VCU faces the winner of Friday's Rhode Island-Dayton loser's bracket game on Saturday, May 29 at noon. VCU will need to win just one game to capture the A-10 Championship, while its opponent will need to win two.