VMI Baseball will host Cornell University for a three-game series beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday, March 14, and concluding with Senior Day on Sunday, March 15 at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium in Lexington.
The Keydets enter the weekend with a strong record of 15-2 and are currently riding a six-game winning streak. The team aims to maintain its momentum against Ivy League opponent Cornell, which holds a 1-9 record this season. Sunday’s game will feature Senior Day festivities, honoring seven VMI first-classmen before the final matchup.
Under Head Coach Sam Roberts, VMI has built an identity around speed on the base paths, leading NCAA Division I in stolen bases for three consecutive seasons. This year, the Keydets have already tallied 98 steals—nearly six per game—and rank first nationally in both total steals and steals per game. Offensively, VMI boasts a .476 on-base percentage (top ten nationally), with 112 walks (top 25) and 58 hit by pitches (top three). The team has also shown resilience by coming from behind to win four of their last five games after trailing by at least three runs.
Several players have achieved notable milestones recently. Owen Prince is just eight steals away from breaking the program’s career stolen base record. Grayson Fitzwater set a new career home run mark with his 47th homer and was named SoCon Player of the Week after hitting .727 over four games against Western Illinois University. Fitzwater also became the first Keydet selected to Baseball America’s National College Team of the Week. Sophomore Cole Cook leads the conference in slugging percentage (.889) and RBIs (26), while Hunter Sipe holds a team-best ERA of 1.57 among qualifying Southern Conference pitchers.
Cornell arrives with an experienced roster featuring eleven seniors but has struggled defensively and on the mound this season, holding a .948 fielding percentage and a team ERA of 7.87. Head Coach Dan Pepicelli enters his eleventh season at Cornell with over one hundred wins for the program.
This series marks the first meeting between VMI and Cornell since March 1957 when Cornell won two out of three games.
