The Virginia Peninsula Community College baseball team went 3-2 last week, one of its best stretches of the season.
The Gators got things started by splitting a midweek doubleheader with Virginia State University, an NCAA Division II four-year school in Petersburg. The Gators lost the first game 12-2 before taking the nightcap 12-6. In the second game, Jordan Alvarez had four hits, including a double, drove in two and scored two runs. Neo Klemish had three hits, and Marco Fernandez and Caleb Gonzales added two hits each. Israel Dozier and Fernandes also drove in two runs apiece.
Fernandez had a two-run single in the third inning, and Dozier had a two-run single in the fourth as VPCC took a 7-2 lead. Alvarez had an RBI double in the fifth inning and a run-scoring single in the sixth. Kaden Hunley and Wilson Estep held the Trojans in check in the fifth and sixth innings, each throwing one scoreless inning.
In the first game, the host Trojans broke open a close game with a six-run third inning. The game was called in the fifth inning. Austin Smith and Israel Dozier had the only hits for the Gators, and Smith and Logan Deese drove in runs, with Smith’s hit an RBI double.
The Gators followed that up by winning two of three games at Rockingham Community College (N.C.) on the weekend. It started with a 9-4 win in the first game of a doubleheader Saturday, April 13. Alvarez, Dozier, and Isaiah Bracey each had two hits and drove in a run. The Gators led 8-1 after three innings. On the mound, Garett Hedgepeth went six innings, giving up seven hits and four runs. Hunley followed with three scoreless and hitless innings. In the second game, the hosts won 6-5. The Gators trailed 3-0 after two innings but tied the game in the fourth inning before giving up three runs in the bottom of the inning. They responded with two more in the fifth but fell short. Bracey had two hits, a double and a triple, and two RBI. Grant Adkins also had two hits. Four pitchers held the Eagles to three hits but walked eight.
The successful week ended Sunday, April 12, with a 4-3 win over the Eagles, as Brandon Drewry threw a complete game. He gave up 11 hits but struck out four and worked out of numerous jams. The tying run was at third base when the game ended.
Neo Klemish had four hits, Alvarez three, and Adkins two. Each of those players also drove in a run, as did Fernandez. Klemish’s hits included a double and a triple.
This week, the Gators have just three games: a doubleheader vs. Paul D. Camp on April 20 at War Memorial Stadium, and a single game the following day at Camp. First pitch is at 1 p.m. both days.
Track and field
The Gators’ next meet is at Christopher Newport University on April 19-20, and they finish their first season of competition at Virginia State University on April 27.
For more information on VPCC and its athletics programs, visit https://virginapeninsulacc.prestosports.com/landing/index.