North Richmond Today

ERICSSON RECORDS FOUR HITS IN VCU'S WIN OVER CORNELL

Final Score: VCU 14, Cornell 9

Winning Pitcher: Campbell Ellis (1-2)

Losing Pitcher: Noah Keller (0-2)

Location: Richmond, Va. (The Diamond)

Records: VCU 4-10, Cornell 0-7

 

The Short Story: A career day from Nic Ericsson and strong relief pitching by Campbell Ellis gave VCU Baseball a great start to the weekend, knocking off the Cornell Big Red to take the first game of the three-game set and snap a three-game skid.

 

LEADING OFF: 

• Ericsson had a career-high in hits, going 4-for-4 at the dish, knocking in two runs while scoring one of his own.
• Jake Thilges smacked his first career home run while setting a career-high at the plate with three hits, going 3-for-6 while knocking in a career-high four runs.
• Ellis came out of the pen to start the third inning and tossed a season-high 4.1 innings, giving up just one earned run while tying a career-high in strikeouts with six.
• Cooper Benzin had one of his better days at the dish, going 3-for-5, scoring three runs while knocking in four and recording a double.
• Logan Amiss scored three runs and reached base six times but did not record an official at-bat. He reached on four walks, a hit by pitch and catcher's interference.
• The 14 runs scored are the most for VCU this season and the 16 hits are the most this season and the most since recording 22 at UMass on May 14, 2022.
• Ericsson becomes the second Ram hitter to go 4-for-4 this season, joining Will Carlone who went 4-for-4 on Mar. 1 at No. 13 North Carolina.

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

• Cornell opened the scoring with two runs in the first and three in the second to take an early 5-0 lead.
• That lead would not last long as in the second the Rams got to work. Logan Amiss led off with a walk and he was moved to third on a Thilges double.
• With two on, Ericsson singled to left to bring home Amiss and with two outs and a pair on Benzin stepped in.
• He took the second pitch he saw right up the middle for a two-RBI single. VCU added one more on a wild pitch that scored Benzin and it brought them within one run of Cornell at 5-4.
• VCU did not waste time taking the lead. In the third Amiss again led off with a walk, and he was followed by Thilges who took the 1-0 pitch and smashed over the left field wall and into the parking lot for a two-run home run and it put VCU in the lead, 6-4, a lead they would not give up.
• RBIs from Benzin and William Bean to go along with an unearned run scored by Benzin gave VCU a 9-5 lead after three innings.
• At this point Ellis had settled in, shutting down the Big Red in order in the third inning, and holding them to just one run scored over the next three innings he pitched.
• Three-straight times, in the third, fourth and fifth, Ellis got the final out on a strikeout as he gave VCU strong middle-inning relief to earn his first win of 2023.
• Cornell added a run in the fifth, but the Rams responded with three in the bottom half of the inning, scoring two on a Thilges single up the middle and a Ericsson single to right.
• The score remained 12-6 over the next 2 innings as Evan Bert came in for Ellis to continue to shut down the Big Red.
• In the eighth, the Rams added a pair of runs on a Benzin RBI double that scored AJ Mathis and a Bean single to left that brought home Benzin.
• Cornell added three in the ninth, but VCU held strong to finish off the 14-9 win to start off the weekend with an offensive explosion.

UP NEXT: VCU remains at The Diamond for two more games against Cornell. VCU and Cornell meet tomorrow at 2 p.m. and on Sunday, Mar. 12 at 1 p.m. with both games being broadcast on ESPN+.

Original source can be found here