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BETHLEHEM, Pa. – Starting off the spring break slate with a challenging opponent, the Lehigh baseball team hits the road this weekend at VMI, taking on the Keydets for three games Friday (3 pm), Saturday (2 pm) and Sunday (1 pm) at Gray -Minor Stadium in Lexington, Va. All three games will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription required) for the first time this season.
The Mountain Hawks (5-5) hit a bit of a roadblock in a surprising matchup against Delaware State on the road last weekend, falling in two of the three games down at Dover. Lehigh took the final game Sunday, 7-3 following a five-run first inning and two runs in the second, while strong pitching held the Hornets to just three runs for the remainder of the contest in the victory. In Saturday’s game, the Mountain Hawks led 4-0 through the first seven innings before a four-run seventh and four-run eighth lifted DSU to an 8-5 win. On Friday, the Hornets one-hit Lehigh, getting the 1-0 final.
Sophomore second baseman Riley Davis had a strong weekend at Delaware State, hitting .400 (4-for-10) with two RBIs and a walk, while also fielding 1,000 with eight putouts and six assists. Three Mountain Hawks homered in Game 2 Saturday in first years Justin Butler and Jake Whitlinger as well as senior Casey Rother. Lehigh’s defense committed just one error in 106 chances in the three-game weekend, which has been a catalyst for success so far this season, ranking first in the Patriot League in fielding percentage (.983) and slotting 29th in the nation in that category .
On the mound, it was senior lefty Matt Stamford who found overall success Saturday in his start against the Hornets, with 5.2 shutout innings and scattering four hits with four walks and four strikeouts. He did not factor into the decision. Sophomore right-hander Tyler Thompson has made an immediate impact coming out of the bullpen this season for the Mountain Hawks and did so again Friday in relief of Luke Rettig. Thompson tossed three shutout innings with three hits allowed and two strikeouts. He has an ERA of 0.00 over seven innings of work through three appearances so far in 2022, striking out eight with a total of just two free passes (one walk, one hit by pitch).
Senior left-hander Luke Rettig was charged with his first loss of the season Friday at DSU, also giving up his first earned run of the season after going five innings with five hits, one run, three walks and seven strikeouts.
So far through 10 games as a team, Lehigh leads the Patriot League in batting average (.268), ERA (4.63), fielding percentage (.983), hits allowed per nine (8.04), home runs per game (0.70), runs per game (5.7), strikeout to walk ratio (1.78) and K/9 (9.6).
VMI has been excellent to start the 2022 campaign, going 7-5 through its first 12 games and going 6-1 at home after knocking off Penn State at Gray-Minor on Tuesday, 11-4. The Keydets have scored 10 or more runs in six of their 12 games and are 6-0 in those contests. VMI took a game from Duke to open the regular season and followed it up with a three-game sweep of Lafayette, two wins over Binghamton and the victory over PSU. It will host its second Patriot League opponent of the season Wednesday afternoon against Holy Cross before welcoming the Mountain Hawks.
Seven hitters in the VMI lineup are batting above .300 to start the season, led by Justin Starke (.489) with a 1,643 OPS and seven home runs through the team’s first 12 games of the year. Starke is closely followed by Zac Morris (.408) and Will Knight (.372) as well at Brett Cook (.343). Both Starke and Morris have at least 20 hits so far and Starke has six doubles and 10 walks with only five strikeouts in 47 at-bats, reaching base at a .579 clip. The 2021 Freshman of the Year in the SoCon, he’s currently in the middle of a 10-game hitting streak since Feb. 19 at Duke.
On the mound, right-handed starter Tyler Bradt is 3-0 with a 2.00 ERA in all three starts, striking out 19 with 10 walks in 18 innings pitched. Caden Plummer has made one start and two other appearances in relief, going 1-0 with an ERA of 1.35 over 6.2 innings with five strikeouts and two walks. VMI pitching has a team ERA of 6.06 this year with 97 strikeouts, 67 walks and 130 hits allowed.
Lehigh is 4-1 all-time against VMI in a series that dates all the way back to 1898. After a meeting in 1984, the Mountain Hawks took two of three games from the Keydets on the road back in March 2019. Both victories went to extra innings with a 1-0 win in 11 innings in the opener and a 15-13 final in 10 innings the next day.
The three-game series in Lexington precedes a six-game home stand at J. David Walker Field that begins next Tuesday at 3 pm against Fairleigh Dickinson.
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