ASHLAND, Va. – A pair of crucial late-inning plays helped Randolph-Macon baseball grab a series sweep of The College of New Jersey Sunday afternoon, as the Yellow Jackets used good baserunning to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth before patience at the plate earned R-MC the game-winning run in the 12th inning Sunday afternoon. 

The Basics

Score: Randolph-Macon 5, TCNJ 4

Location/Venue: Ashland, Va./Hugh Stephens Field at Estes Park

Records: Randolph-Macon (11-1), TCNJ (0-3)

How It Happened

• Neither team placed a run on the board through six innings. R-MC starting pitcher John Reynolds, Jr. (Bumpass, Va. / Louisa) was able to strike out four and walk just two in his 5.2 innings.
• TCNJ scored first in the top of the sixth after a leadoff triple left a Lion in good position to scored on a groundout during the next at bat.
• The Yellow Jackets were able to tie it in the bottom of the seventh. After three R-MC batters loaded the bases with free passes to base, senior Zach Evans (Fort Mill, S.C. / Seneca (NJ)) earned an RBI with a sacrifice fly to right, which evened the score at 1-1.
• The Lions responded in the next half inning. A home run and a single to left field with a man-on helped TCNJ grab the lead back heading into the bottom of the eighth.
• But it was clear R-MC would not quit the fight. The Yellow Jackets brought the game back within one in the bottom half of the eighth as senior Reece Yeargain (Chester, Va. / Benedictine) singled up the middle with fellow senior Mike Nickles (Stafford, Va. / Colonial Forge) on second base. Nickles had doubled with one out to climb aboard.
• Needing to still launch a deeper comeback, the Yellow Jackets found the tying run in the bottom of the ninth. Senior Cole Grinde (Woodford, Va. / Caroline) got it all started with a leadoff walk. Freshman Riley Leadenham (Virginia Beach, Va. / Kellam) pinch ran for Grinde and eventually got home after junior Jacob Selden (Lynchburg, Va. / E.C. Glass) sacrificed to move Leadenham to second and Evans flied out to move him to third. Pinch hitter Kevin Mooney (Williamsburg, Va / Jamestown) reached first on a fielding error by the TCNJ shortstop, which also scored the run and sent the game to extra innings.
• The first two innings of extra play were clean. It was not until the 12^th inning that TCNJ scored with a leadoff single to short, a sacrifice bunt to move the runner to second and an RBI single to score, giving the Lions the 4-3 lead.
• With their backs against the wall, the Yellow Jackets took the situation in stride. Nickles opened the bottom of the 12^th with a single to right. Yeargain was hit by a pitch to put two runners on for Randolph-Macon. Senior Shawn Nickles (Stafford, Va. / Colonial Forge) sacrificed the two runners over to allow sophomore J.T. Fitzpatrick (Mechanicsville, Va. / Atlee), who came in to play first in the top of the 10^th, to sacrifice fly and score Mike Nickles to tie the game. The TCNJ pitcher issued a pair of walks to Selden and Evans to load the bases, alongside Yeargain at third. That left Brooks Mazey (Glen Allen, Va. / Deep Run) at the plate with one out. Mazey had come in during the defensive changes at the top of the 10th along with Fitzpatrick.  The sophomore was hit by a pitch to earn the game-winning RBI Yeargain came home.

Inside The Numbers

• Senior Ryan Duphorn (Erial, N.J. / Paul VI) had three hits and a walk on the day, while Mike Nickles was 3-for-6 with two runs scored.
• Yeargain, Fitzpatrick, Evans and Mazey accounted for one RBI each on the day.
• Sophomore Jacob Smither (Mechanicsville, Va. / Atlee) worked an inning and two-thirds on the mound and struck one out while allowing just a lone hit. Senior Tyler Dunn (Salisbury, Md. / James M. Bennett) also appeared, pitching two-thirds of an inning and getting R-MC out of a tough spot in the top of the eighth. Senior Hayden Moore (Mechanicsville, Va. / Hanover) earned the win with his four innings of work, striking out two.
• Today's win ensures the first three-game weekend sweep of an opponent in the regular season since R-MC won all three games of a weekend series against RPI in 2017.

Up Next

Randolph-Macon will travel to Washington, D.C. to face Catholic on Thursday at 3:00 PM. The Yellow Jackets return home to open Old Dominion Athletic Conference play this weekend with a pair of games on Saturday and Sunday at Estes Park against Guilford.