Score: VCU 13, Massachusetts 7
Location: Amherst, Mass. (Earl Lorden Field)
Records: VCU 16-37 (9-20), Massachusetts 14-33-1 (7-22)
 
THE SHORT STORY: VCU baseball kept its foot on the gas pedal from yesterday's weekend-opening victory, combining for 14 hits and 13 runs to best the Minutemen, 13-7. A seven-run eighth inning gave the Rams the insurance they needed to hold on for the series win.
 
LEADING OFF:

• Casey Kleinman tallied his 100^th and 101^st hits at VCU in the game, both doubles
• VCU had double-digit hits for the 16^th time this season, while seven of the starting nine Rams had two hits in the game
• Nick Flores had his 58^th hit of the season, which is the most by a freshman since Tyler Locklear's 67 in 2021
• Freshman Nick April-Gath hit his second collegiate home run and first grand slam of his career
• Owen Tappy made another quality start, stretching 7.0 innings of work, striking out seven with six hits and two earned runs allowed for the victory
• The Rams have scored 16 runs in the eighth inning across two games in the series

 
HOW IT HAPPENED:

• A low-scoring game carried through the fifth inning as UMass' lone run came on a sacrifice fly in the opening frame and the Rams' pair of runs crossed on a Flores RBI groundout and April-Gath sacrifice fly
• VCU broke the game open with its first big inning in the sixth, belting a pair of home runs off the bats of Adrian Jimenez and Seth Werchan before Flores doubled in the fourth of the inning
• Scoring on a Ram error and belting a home run, the Minutemen got two runs back in as many frames to close in on a 6-3 ballgame
• The Rams batted around in the eighth, leading off the inning with three consecutive singles from Sean Swenson, Trent Adelman and Werchan before April-Gath cleared the bases with a grand slam
• UMass fired back with four runs on four hits in the bottom of the eighth, but Cade Dressler closed it out for the Rams to secure a 13-7 victory

 
UP NEXT:
VCU will conclude the 2025 season as it searches for the first weekend sweep in its noon matchup against the Minutemen on Saturday, May 17.