RICHMOND, Va. – VCU was looking to make history on Thursday.
The top-seeded Rams (35-14) were in search of a program-record 19th consecutive victory in the first round of the Atlantic 10 Tournament at The Diamond. It turned out to be a lopsided 15-4 win over fourth-seeded Saint Joseph’s.
“We’re at the time of the year where no one cares what you’ve done the past 56 games,” VCU head coach Shawn Stiffler said. “It’s what you do next. i’m very very proud. You know the tradition in this program, the players that have been in this program, the legendary coaches, the teams that have been in this program. I’m very humble. It comes at that time of year where you don’t even have time to enjoy it. I’ll enjoy it in a couple weeks.”
It was No. 19, Jack Schroeder, who contributed heavily to the VCU offense, along with Hunter Vay.
Schroeder had hits in his first three at-bats. After Brandon Henson struck out with two away and reached on a wild pitch, Schroeder had an RBI single to spark a four-run first. Following a walk, catcher’s interference and a dropped fly ball, he laced a two-run single to spark a four-run second as the Rams went up 8-0.
“I was more focused on the fact that we were really ready to play than I was about the number of runs on the board,” Stiffler said. “With still seven innings to go I wasn’t thinking about the lead, I was just happy with the way we were ready to go.”
Vay went 4 for 5 with four RBI, including a three-run homer in the first.
The Hawks started the third with two walks and a base hit. They used a sacrifice fly and three run-scoring singles to cut the deficit in half at 8-4.
Add-on runs for the Rams (one in the fourth, two in the fifth, one in the sixth and three in the seventh) pushed the lead to 15-4.
“That’s something we talk about,” Stiffler said about the add-on runs. “We preach that. We talk about being able to extend. You only get so many runs in a game. You’re not going to sit there and score four every inning. Put pressure on Saint Joe’s and not let them have any easy innings. Provide opportunities to score and we were good at that today.”
Leadoff hitter Steven Carpenter reached five times with a pair of doubles and three walks. He scored three times, as did Liam Hibbits (2 for 5).
Ryan Picollo and Luca Trigiani both had two hits and a run for the Hawks (21-19).
Stiffler had a small fist pump following the game. Was it joy, satisfaction, relief?
“A little bit of all,” Stiffler said. “You are trying to fight off a catastrophic weekend, being able to fight off going 0-2, having to play again tonight. More of a relief. We came out and played exactly how I had hoped and I was proud of the guys for that.