This weekend at the Diamond, VCU and Davidson take the field in a 3 game series with high stakes at the top of the Atlantic 10. Both teams sit at 3-0 in conference play alongside Saint Joseph’s for first place.
VCU (3-0 A-10, 19-6 Overall)
VCU Baseball is currently on a 5 game winning streak. The Rams started with a 6-0 win versus Towson before sweeping Massachusetts in their first A-10 series of the season. Last Tuesday VCU tied their highest run tally of the season in a 15-2 win over VMI at the Diamond.
Those bats are swinging at a high rate led by Zac Ching with 35 hits after 25 games. VCU has 4 Rams with 32 hits or more this season alongside Ching: Paul Witt – 34, Hogan Brown – 33, Liam Hibbits – 32.
With the least amount of at-bats in the A-10 (82), VCU has managed the fourth-best slugging percentage at .439. That includes 23 hits, 12 RBIs, 7 doubles, and 2 home runs.
Connor Gillispie and Mac McCarty are letting the ball rip from the mound. Gillispie has registered 44 strikeouts with a 1.64 ERA and McCarty has 4 saves for VCU.
Davidson (3-0 A-10, 13-7 Overall)
Before losing to Duke 7-2, Davidson was on a 7 game winning streak. The Blue Devils scored 3 runs in the 4th inning while the Wildcats were held scoreless until the 8th inning. Davidson had a good start to A-10 play with a sweep over La Salle at home. The Wildcats outscored the Explorers 33-11 in those 3 games.
Ruben Fontes aims to crank a few home runs at the Diamond as the A-10’s home run leader with 8 on the season. Fontes also leads the Wildcats in RBIs (22), runs (20), and slugging percentage (.645). As a team, Davidson is 2nd in hits (37), runs (31), RBIs (31), and slugging percentage (.623).
With one of the conference’s productive offenses, Davidson’s pitching is a working weak point. A 3.67 ERA average and 20 strikeouts has the Wildcats pitching near the middle of the A-10 table. Josh Hudson is Davidson’s golden boy on the mound with a team-high 29 strikeouts.
The Previous Series of Yesteryear
Last season’s VCU/Davidson series took place at Wilson Field where Davidson won the series 2-1. VCU lost the first game 10-9 after Davidson erased a 7-2 deficit and scoring 4 runs in the bottom of the 9th.
VCU responded the following game scoring a 14-1 victory. The Rams were up 7-1 and blasted 6 runs in the 7th inning to put the game out of reach. Davidson got retribution with a 13-9 win in Game 3. Over the last two seasons, VCU and Davidson are even at 3-3 after 6 contests.
PLAY BALL!
First place is on the line at the Diamond between VCU and Davidson. Cheer on the Black & Gold in the ball-park this weekend!
Friday, March 29th– 6:30 PM
Saturday, March 30th– 2:00 PM
Sunday, March 31st– 1:00 PM
