SALEM, VA--The Roanoke College baseball team improved to 8-11 on the 2005 season with a 10-5 victory over visiting Southern Virginia College on Tuesday in Salem, VA. The Maroons take two of three games between the two teams this season with Tuesday's win.
The Maroons jumped out to a 1-0 lead after one inning of play, thanks to two hits and a wild pitch. Justin Bradley led off the inning reaching on a Southern Virginia error. Brennan Thacker followed with a single to center, moving Bradley to second. The Knight pitcher, Sean Dahlin, then unleashed a wild pitch to move both runners up. Nathan Unroe then reached on a fielder's choice. Bradley, however, was thrown out trying to score. Thacker moved up to third on the play. The next batter, Brandon Wilson, gave the Maroons the 1-0 lead with an infield single, to short, to score Thacker from third.
Josh Ringstaff led off the bottom of the second inning with a triple to deep rightcenter. Freshman Justin Brown followed with a sharp groundout to second, allowing Ringstaff to trot home for RC's second run.
Roanoke's starting pitcher, Travis Andrews, got himself out of a jam in the top of the third. After walking the first batter and hitting the second, Andrews got the third batter of the inning to fly to left and then struck out the next two batters looking to get out of the frame. He also got himself out of a tight spot in the fourth, getting a pop out in foul territory with two outs and the bases loaded.
Another Southern Virginia error and key hits for the Maroons led to two more runs in the fourth. Brandon Coates led off the inning with single to left and moved to second on an SVA wild pitch. Josh Ringstaff then reached on a Knight error. Ringstaff reached second on the throwing error, which went well over the firstbasman's head. Coates moved to third on the play. Both Coates and Ringstaff came home when Brown doubled to the gap in leftfield.
The Knights cut the Maroon lead in half on a Josh Thornock sacrifice fly to centerfield and a Brady Decker single to center in the top of the fifth inning.
The Maroons got the runs back, plus two, in the bottom of the inning. Brennan Thacker led off with a triple to rightfield and then came home on a Nathan Unroe sacrifice fly to center. Three consecutive singles led to another Maroon run, with Coates driving in Wilson from second. Ringstaff had the fourth consecutive single, driving in Robby Hoopes from second. Hoopes slid under the catcher's tag at home, scoring the third run of the inning. Justin Brown drove in the team's fourth run on a sacrifice fly to center.
Southern Virginia chipped away at Roanoke's lead in he top of the eighth inning, scoring three times on three hits to make the score 10-5 in the home team's favor.
Brown finished the game with three hits and a career-high four runs batted in. Andrews got the victory for the Maroons, going five innings, allowing two runs on six hits. He also struck out six in the win.
The Maroons will bee back in action on Wednesday at Old Dominion Athletic Conference rival Guilford College. The game in Greensboro, NC is scheduled for a 3:00pm start. Roanoke will then play the Single-A Sale Avalanche in an exhibition game on Thursday at Memorial Stadium in Salem. Admission will be charged to get in the game with all proceeds going to the Boys and Girls Club of the Roanoke Valley.
Roanoke vs. Southern Virginia Box Score
