NCAA Greenville Regional
Score: Evansville 17, VCU 11
Location: Greenville, N.C. (Clark-LeClair Stadium)
Records: VCU 38-22, Evansville 37-21
Â
The short story: VCU senior shortstop
William Bean hit a grand slam, and senior third baseman
Brandon Eike recorded five hits, but it wasn't enough for the Rams to slow down red-hot Evansville Saturday night at the NCAA Greenville Regional.
Â
LEADING OFF
- Eike finished his day 5-for-6 and drove in a run for the Rams
- Bean was 2-for-4 and scored a pair of runs in addition to his second career grand slam
- Junior second baseman Casey Kleinman also provided his first four-hit night as a Ram. He was 4-for-6 with a homer and three RBIs
- Freshman first baseman Chris McHugh also homered for the Black and Gold
THE STRETCH
- Evansville abused VCU pitching to the tune of 16 hits, including four home runs
- The Aces had already scored three runs in the second and three in the fourth to build a 6-0 lead. But in the fifth, Evansville erupted for seven runs, punctuated by a grand slam by third baseman Brent Widder, to go up 13-0
- VCU would not go away quietly. The Rams scraped together three runs in the fifth on back-to-back homers by Kleinman and McHugh, and added a pair in the sixth. In the seventh, a dropped third strike with two outs kept the Rams alive, and VCU made the Aces pay with five runs, including Bean's 336-foot blast down the left field line that cut the deficit to 15-10. But VCU could get no closer
NOTABLE
- Eike moved into fifth place on VCU single-season hits list with 94. Next up is Erik Suave, who recorded 95 during the 1994 season. He is now also second in program history in total bases in a season (165). He trails only Tyler Locklear's 2022 total of 179
- Senior centerfielder Cooper Benzin reached base three times and scored three runs for the RamsÂ
NEXT UP
VCU will face 16
th-ranked East Carolina on Sunday at noon in an elimination game at Clark-LeClair Stadium. That winner of that contest will advance to meet Evansville in the championship round at 6 p.m.
Â