Score: VCU 7, UMass 1
Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)
Records: VCU 18-10 (2-1 Atlantic 10), UMass 8-14 (1-2)
 
The short story: Sophomore righthander Brian Curley threw four-plus innings of shutout relief and junior Casey Kleinman drove home a pair as VCU topped UMass in a Saturday rubber match at The Diamond.
 
LEADING OFF

• Curley came out of the bullpen and surrendered just three UMass hits in 4.1 scoreless innings to earn his fifth win (5-0) of the season for VCU. He struck out six and walked two
• Kleinman led a nine-hit VCU attack with a pair of singles (2-for-4) and a run scored
• Junior third baseman Brandon Eike finished his day 2-of-5 at the plate, including an RBI single, for the Rams
• Jack Beverly and Jake Given collected a pair of hits each for the Minutemen 

THE STRETCH

• VCU plated a pair in the bottom half of the fourth on a go-ahead RBI groundout by junior second baseman Griffin Boone and a run-scoring single by Kleinman, to take a 3-1 lead
• The Rams broke the game open with four more runs in the seventh, including a Kleinman sacrifice fly and an RBI single by graduate outfielder Ethan Iannuzzi
• VCU opened the game with three straight hits, including an RBI single to left center by Eike, to claim a 1-0 lead. UMass' Nolan Tichy homered to deep left field in the top of the third to knot the game at 1-1
• VCU pitching scattered eight hits in the game and struck out 10

NEXT UP
The Rams will head to Williamsburg, Va. to take on William & Mary on Tuesday, April 2 at 5 p.m. That contest will be streamed live on FloSports.