April 23, 2006
Box Score
Virginia Commonwealth held off a Mason rally in the first game of a doubleheader and Tim St. Clair hit a pair of home runs in the second game as the Rams swept a pair of Colonial Athletic Association games from the Patriots on Sunday.
The Rams went deep four times in the doubleheader with three of those shots coming in the second game. Sergio Miranda's three-run homer in the first helped the Rams to a 4-3 win and Joe Meador joined St. Clair in going deep in the second game, which VCU won 9-4.
The Rams improved to 22-16, 11-7 while Mason fell to 14-25, 8-13. The Patriots play again on Tuesday at home against Liberty and on Wednesday at Temple. The Rams play on Tuesday at North Carolina.
In the first game of the doubleheader, Mason took an early lead. In the bottom of the second, Ryan Uphouse led off with a bunt single and Jason Bour followed with a double to right-centerfield. Tyler Youngs' grounder to short brought Uphouse home with the game's first run. The Rams didn't wait long to respond, as Nate Anderson led off the third with a single, Kwan Evans followed with a walk and Sergio Miranda hit a one-out homer down the rightfield line for a 3-0 VCU lead.
The Rams added to their lead in the fourth, as Meador led off with a walk, went to third when Anderson's liner hit Mason starter Dan Jaycox before settling in left field for a single, and scored on Evans hit to center. VCU had a chance to add more runs in the fifth but some timely relief pitching quelled a rally. Scott Sizemore led off the inning with a single but was thrown out trying to turn it into a double. St. Clair and Jared Bolden followed with back-to-back singles that put runners on the corners and ended Jaycox' day. Eric Gibbons came on in relief and forced Meador to hit into a 6-4-3 double play.
Mason rallied in the ninth, putting VCU on its heels, but the rally came up short. Tyler Youngs singled to left to lead off the inning and Spencer Wiggins had a one-out single to put runners on first and second. A passed ball allowed both runners to advance and Robby Jacobsen's infield single brought Youngs home. Wiggins scored on a sacrifice fly by Matt York but Scott Krieger lined out to first to end the rally. Jaycox took the loss, falling to 2-3, while John Leonard earned the win, improving to 4-3.
In the second game, VCU scored three times in the second and three times in the third to effectively put the game away. St. Clair led off the second with a home run to left and Bolden followed with a single. Bolden stole second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a sacrifice fly by Trai Harris. The inning stayed alive when Anderson was hit by a pitch, Evans reached on catcher's interference and Chris Jackson singled to make it 3-0.
Mason got a run back in the bottom of the frame when Scott Krieger led off with a single and Casey Slattery hit a two-out double to bring home the first baseman. The two-run deficit quickly became a five-run deficit, though, as VCU responded with a three-run third. St. Clair's one-out solo homer made it 4-1 and Meador's two-run homer that followed a Bolden walk made it 6-1. Krieger's fourth homer of the year, a shot down the leftfield line, made it 6-2. Slattery's homer in the bottom of the fifth brought the Patriots to within three at 6-3.
The Rams added an insurance run in the seventh when Sizemore reached on a triple when Uphouse, the rightfielder, lost the ball in the sun. St. Clair's single against a drawn-in infield made it 7-3. Krieger's second homer of the day made it 7-4 in the bottom of the eighth, but it wasn't enough to get Mason back into the game. It was the second time this season Krieger has hit two home runs in a game.
Hitz took the loss for Mason, falling to 3-5. Cody Eppley earned the win for VCU, improving to 2-1. On the day, Krieger was 4 for 7 with a pair of RBI while Casey Slattery was 2 for 4 with two RBI. Tyler Youngs and Spencer Wiggins were each 3 for 7. St. Clair was 6 for 9 with three RBI while Miranda was 3 for 7 with three RBI. Anderson was 3 for 6 while Sizemore was 3 for 7.
