Score: VCU 13, Richmond 11
Location: Richmond, Va. (Pitt Field)
Records: VCU 18-15 (4-4 Atlantic 10), Richmond 16-15 (2-6 A-10)
 
The short story: The Rams evened a crosstown Atlantic 10 series with the Spiders with a win in a back-and-forth game that featured several lead changes and a balanced VCU offense.
 
FIRST PITCH

• Freshman center fielder Jesse Robinson had his most productive game as a Ram, collecting career highs of three hits and three RBIs, and made a diving catch for the final out of the game.
• Redshirt sophomore left fielder Cooper Benzin went 2-for-2 with career highs of three runs and two walks, while collecting a pair of RBIs.
• Redshirt junior right-hander Evan Chenier earned his first win of the year, striking out a career-high six batters across 3.0 innings.
• Redshirt sophomore catcher Nic Ericsson hit his second home run of the year, a two-run blast in the second inning.
• Sophomore shortstop Connor Hujsak went 2-for-4 with a double, two runs, and two RBIs.
• Graduate catcher Jacob Selden went 2-for-2 with a double, a hit-by-pitch, two RBIs and a run.
• Redshirt sophomore third baseman Tyler Locklear drew a pair of walks and scored two runs.

 
HOW IT HAPPENED

• Redshirt junior first baseman Michael Haydak led off the game with an infield single, then advanced to second on redshirt sophomore second baseman Ben Nippolt's hit-by-pitch, and third on Locklear's flyout. Hujsak lifted a sacrifice fly to right to score Haydak and put the Rams up 1-0.
• A leadoff home run and an RBI single gave the Spiders the lead at 2-1 after the first.
• In the top of the second, Benzin walked in front of Ericsson, who launched his second home run of the season over the left field fence to give VCU a 3-2 lead.
• Richmond retook the lead at 4-3 with a walk and a pair of hits in the bottom of the second. A solo home run in the third stretched the lead to 5-3.
• Redshirt junior right-handed pitcher Maddison Furman used a pair of strikeouts to get around a walk and a single to post a scoreless fourth inning.
• VCU exploded for six runs in the fifth to take a 9-5 lead. After Nippolt led off with a single and Locklear walked, Hujsak roped a double off the wall to score Nippolt and make it 5-4. Redshirt sophomore designated hitter Will Carlone then tied the game on an RBI single to second base.
• Benzin laid down a sacrifice bunt down the first base line, reaching on a fielder's choice as the Richmond pitcher committed an error trying to get an out at home, as Hujak scored to put the Rams in front 6-5.
• A Robinson two-run single up the middle and a Haydak sac fly capped off the big inning for VCU.
• Richmond tied the game at 9-9 in the bottom of the fifth with a pair of home runs.
• Selden put the Rams back in the front, 11-9, in the top of the seventh with a two-run double to right center, scoring redshirt junior AJ Mathis (who pinch ran for Carlone, who had drawn a walk) and Benzin, who had blasted a single up the middle.
• After allowing four runs but striking out the side in the fifth, Chenier bounced back to record 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh to keep the Spiders off the scoreboard as VCU took the lead.
• RBI singles from Benzin and Robinson extended the VCU lead to 13-9 in the eighth.
• Three singles loaded the bases for Richmond in the bottom of the eighth, but redshirt senior reliever Edwin Serrano induced a 5-6-3 double play to escape the jam and end the inning.
• The Spiders mounted a rally in the bottom of the ninth, scoring on a bases-loaded single and an RBI groundout, but Robinson sealed the win for the Rams by diving to head first to snag a ball that was dropping in center field.

 
NOTABLE

• Ericsson's home run was the third of his career, and marked a season-high for RBIs.
• Benzin, who entered the weekend leading the A-10 and ranking seventh in Division I in sacrifice bunts, collected his ninth of the season.
• Furman tossed a season-high 3.0 innings, allowing one run on four hits and striking out three batters.
• VCU has outscored its opponents 30-8 in the first inning of games this season. The Rams are 11-5 when scoring in the first inning, and 13-6 when scoring first.
• The Rams are 8-4 against teams from the state of Virginia.
• Locklear extended his reached base streak to 16 straight games.

 
UP NEXT
The Rams and Spiders play the rubber match of the three-game series Sunday, April 17 at 1 p.m. from Pitt Field. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.