The baseball team took its talents to Myrtle Beach, S.C. to face off against VCU on Feb. 21-22 in a three-game series. In Saturday’s double-header, the Bison swept VCU 5-1 and then 6-4. On Sunday, they kept their victory at a slightly smaller margin, 3-2. With three more wins under their belt, the Orange and Blue are off to their best start since 1991.

On Feb. 21, starting pitchers Bryson Hough ’15 and Xavier Hammond ’15 combined to bring a doubleheader sweep of VCU. Hough had six shutout innings and Hammond fought off a ninth-inning rally by the Rams.

Danny Rafferty ’17 grounded out in the bottom of the first to add one run to the board while Joe Ogren’s ’16 home run brought in another four runs in the fifth. In game two, Anthony Gingerelli ’15 was hit by a pitch, and Ogren followed with a double that brought Gingerelli home.

Sam Clark ’17 helped to extend the Bison lead to 4-0 with a two-run double, and single runs in the seventh and ninth innings helped cement a lead and cushion. VCU, in an effort to stop Orange and Blue runs, used seven pitchers in the game.

The next day, five different pitchers contributed to the Orange and Blue’s success. A combination effort of Rafferty, Tucker Rekucki ’15, Jordan Holtz ’15, Nolan Brennan ’18, and Tommy Gambon ’17 kept VCU to a mere five hits the entire game. Holtz, who started in his first career game, pitched for four innings and kept scoring to a minimum. VCU only managed four hits and three walks. Rafferty also started the game as designated hitter and earned an RBI.

The Bison’s first score came in the fourth inning with a single from Ogren, who scored on a triple hit from Jon Mayer ’16. Rafferty rounded out that same inning with a ground out. A winning run came in the sixth inning from Gingerelli.

After a couple weekends of away pursuits, the team is due to make its home debut on Feb. 28 and March 1 with a four-game series versus Buffalo.