Box Score 1 | Box Score 2

ROCK HILL, SC --  The Winthrop baseball team split a pair of games with VMI on Saturday at a waterlogged Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington.
 
The Eagles carried a 4-0 to the bottom of the fifth, where teams picked up after Friday night's play was suspended due to heavy rain.  Reliever Tyler Klitsch (2-9) protected the lead for the Eagles on the mound while senior closer Eric Ruth worked out of a bases loaded jam in the ninth to secure the 4-1 win for the Eagles.  Winthrop was held to just three hits by Keydets starter Reed Garrett (3-7) as VMI closed out the nightcap with a 7-0 win on a soggy evening at Gray-Minor Stadium. 
 
Saturday's split moves Winthrop to 18-32 (6-14 BSC) while VMI progresses to 20-31 on the season including 6-14 in the Big South.  The teams will wrap up the series on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium.
 
The teams resumed play from Friday night's rain suspension at 4 p.m. on Saturday.  They picked up with Winthrop leading VMI 4-0 in the bottom of the fifth.  Eagles' reliever Tyler Klitsch and Keydet's reliever Andrew Woods managed to throw zeros up on the board into the ninth.  VMI threatened in the ninth when the Keydets collected their first run of the game on Brandon Angus' RBI single scoring pinch hitter David Geary from second.  However, Winthrop's senior closer Eric Ruth worked out of a bases loaded jam striking out a pair of Keydets to collect his ninth save of the season and lock up the 4-1 win for the Eagles.
 
Shortly after the completion of the game, the teams took for the field for Saturday's originally scheduled game.  After 1 ½ innings of scoreless baseball, the rain struck again forcing the second rain delay of the weekend.  After waiting out a nearly three hour rain delay, they teams made their way back to the field to resume play. 
 
The Keydets got on the board right out of the break on Berkley Hawkins' RBI single off Eagles' freshman starter Sam Kmiec (3-7) to put VMI up 1-0.  Hawkins struck again in the fourth delivering a two-run fielder's choice scoring Nick Dwyer and Will Connerley.  The Keydets managed to plate another run in the inning on Drew Bryan's RBI single giving VMI a 4-0 advantage.  Connerley's RBI sacrifice fly to center field in the fifth upped the Keydet's lead to 5-0 through five innings of play.
 
VMI added a run in the seventh and one in the eighth to give the Keydets a 7-0 lead while Garrett continued to keep the Winthrop bats at bay shutting out the Eagles in his first career complete game.  Garrett wrapped up the 7-0 win for the Keydets allowing the Eagles just three hits while striking out nine and walking just one. 
 
Junior outfielder Cody Dolan extended his reached base streak to 14 games on Saturday matching his season high.  With hits in both games against VMI, Dolan also extended his hit streak to seven games.
 
Winthrop's 18 wins this season surpasses its win total in 2012.  The Eagles look to win their second straight Big South series tomorrow in their finale with VMI at 2:00 p.m.
 
Sunday's finale with VMI can be followed on the Winthrop Sports Network via www.winthropeagles.com.