Score: VCU 12, Merrimack College 3
Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)
Winning Pitcher: Zachary Peters (1-1)
Losing Pitcher: Tyghe Healy (0-1)
Records: VCU 3-2, Merrimack College 0-4
 
The short story: Nine runs over the first three frames opened up a lead that VCU Baseball controlled for the remainder of the game on its way to a dominating victory over Merrimack College to open the weekend series at the Diamond.
 
LEADING OFF

• Zachary Peters took the mound to start, tossing three scoreless frames, giving up just three hits and one walk while striking out three on the way to his first win of the season
• Graduate Ethan Iannuzzi led the Rams at the plate, going 2-for-3, scoring two runs and knocking in one
• Redshirt freshman Devan Zirwas provided the power, smashing a two RBI triple on his way to recording a game-high three RBIs
• Both redshirt senior Cooper Benzin and senior Brandon Eike led the game with three walks each
• Senior Nick Cosentino tossed two frames, while senior Campbell Ellis, junior James McGrady and sophomore Brian Curley each all threw one scoreless frame over the course of the game
• Merrimack's Marshall (2-for-3) and Castellano (2-for-2) led the way offensively for the Warriors

THE STRETCH

• The Rams scored three in the first to get things started, with the big knock coming off the bat of senior William Bean who hit a single to left that, due to a pair of errors by the Merrimack left fielder, led to two runs scoring and one RBI for Bean
• VCU added a third on a fielding error by the Merrimack shortstop to make it 3-0
• Over Peters' three scoreless frames, the Ram starter faced just one over the minimum to give VCU the foundation it needed to grow the lead early
• In the third VCU extended its lead with a six-run explosion
• Zirwas' two-RBI triple to left, with Benzin (walk) and redshirt senior Nic Ericsson (single) on base was the big blow in the frame
• Junior Casey Kleinman (single), Ericsson (single), sophomore Aden Hill and Iannuzzi (single) all recorded RBIs in the frame as VCU extended its lead to 9-0 after three
• The Rams added two runs in the fourth and one more in the fifth to cap off their scoring for the evening
• While Merrimack College would get on the board, scoring one in the fifth and two in the eighth, shut down pitching from Curley, McGrady and Ellis over the final four frames kept the Warriors at bay as VCU collected the weekend opening win

NOTABLE

• VCU has now collected 29 walks over the past two games, having walked 15 times on Tuesday against Longwood
• The Rams have scored at least 12 runs in their past two games

NEXT UP
VCU continues its weekend series with Merrimack, with Saturday's game set for 2 p.m. and Sunday's set for 1 p.m. Both games will be played at The Diamond and broadcast on ESPN+.