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Virginia Commonwealth University

#LetsGoVCU
Tyler Locklear UVA Cover
2
Fordham FOR 16-35, 9-14 A-10
4
Winner VCU VCU 35-18, 18-5 A-10
Fordham FOR
16-35, 9-14 A-10
2
Final
4
VCU VCU
35-18, 18-5 A-10
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
Fordham FOR 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0 0 2 5 0
VCU VCU 0 0 3 1 0 0 0 0 X 4 9 3

W: Furman, Maddison (5-0) L: KARSLO, Gabe (3-5) S: Masloff, Jack (4)

Game Recap: Baseball |

LOCKLEAR HOMER POWERS VCU TO 4-2 WIN OVER FORDHAM

Score: VCU 4, Fordham 2
Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)
Records: VCU 35-18 (18-5 Atlantic 10), Fordham 16-35 (9-14 A-10)
 
The short story: Redshirt sophomore first baseman Tyler Locklear blasted a three-run homer in the third inning to power VCU to its 10th straight win.
 
FIRST PITCH
  • VCU has won 11 straight contests against conference opponents, 18 of its last 21 games overall, and is 32-10 since March 8.
  • Locklear had a 2-for-3 night with a double, the home run, a hit-by-pitch, and three RBIs.
  • Redshirt junior left-hander Maddison Furman earned his team-best fifth win of the year, throwing a season-high 4.0 scoreless innings, and conceding just two hits with one strikeout.
  • Redshirt sophomore lefty Jack Masloff notched his fourth save of the season, tied for the most on the team, closing the game with 2.0 scoreless frames and three strikeouts.
  • Redshirt sophomore third baseman Ben Nippolt went 2-for-3 with a walk, a run, and an RBI.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED
  • Furman cruised through his four innings of work, retiring 12 of the 16 batters he faced on just 43 pitches without allowing a run.
  • Locklear got VCU on the board in a loud way in the third. After freshman second baseman Marcus O'Malley led off with a single and Nippolt walked, Locklear crushed a towering home run off the scoreboard to give the Black and Gold a 3-0 lead.
  • Nippolt added a two-out RBI the following inning, singling home graduate catcher Jacob Selden, who had led off the frame with a base hit, pushing the VCU advantage to 4-0.
  • The VCU defense erased an error in the top of the sixth when O'Malley caught a line drive, then flipped the ball quickly to first to double up the runner who had not tagged.
  • Fordham cut the VCU lead in half in the top of the seventh with a two-run homer.
  • Fordham's T.J. Wachter led off the top of the ninth with a double. With a runner in scoring position and the tying run at the plate with no outs, Masloff got a swinging strikeout of Michael Taylor. Nippolt then knocked down a hard-hit ball to third, holding the runner at second and gunning down the runner at first. Masloff painted the corner for a backwards K in the next at-bat to end the game.
 
LOCKLEAR RECORD WATCH
  • Locklear's home run was the 32nd of his career, tying him with Darian Carpenter (2014-17) for second in VCU history.
  • It was also his 15th homer of the season, giving him two entries in the top five of VCU's all-time single-season home run list: 2nd – 16 (2021) & T3rd – 15 (2022).
  • His 64 RBIs this year are the seventh most in a single season in VCU history, while his 22 doubles are sixth most, and 64 runs are tied for 10th best.
 
NOTABLE
  • Locklear also leads VCU with 72 hits, 20 hit-by-pitches, 22 multi-hit games, and 15 multi-RBI games this season, and has reached base in 36 straight games.
  • Nippolt is on a nine-game hitting streak.
  • Redshirt sophomore left fielder Cooper Benzin leads both VCU and the Atlantic 10 with 12 sacrifice bunts.
 
UP NEXT
VCU plays its regular season finale against Fordham Saturday, May 21 at 2 p.m. The Rams' senior class will be honored before first pitch. The game will be streamed on ESPN+ and tickets can be purchased here.
 
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