VIRGINIA BEACH, Virginia -- The Ferrum College baseball team split the weekend series with Virginia Wesleyan University, dropping the first game 9-8 and picking up a 14-8 win in the nightcap at Perry Field.

RECORDS
Ferrum (11-19, 4-10 ODAC)
Virginia Wesleyan (18-12, 10-6 ODAC)

GAME ONE
Bryce Thacker's RBI double scored the first run of the in the top of the first inning. Virginia Wesleyan responded with three runs of their own in the bottom half of the first, to take a 3-1 lead. Clayton Michael hit a two-run homerun in the third and Slade Keyser's sac fly brought home Thacker to tie the game 4-4 in the third. The Marlins pushed three runs across in the fourth, to retake a 7-4 lead. 

Kyle Markowitz's two-run homerun pulled Ferrum within a run 7-6 in the fifth. VWU scored a run off of a double in the sixth to go back up by two runs, 8-6. Russell Golembe's single to center field drove in a run in the eighth. Thacker then tied the game in the ninth with a solo homerun. Virginia Wesleyan's leadoff batter Nick Sylvester hit a walk-off homerun to win game one.

KEY STATS
Virginia Wesleyan: RP Ryan Cowell (W, 1-2) 1.0 inn, 1 hit, 1 ER, BB; Sylvester 1-4, GW HR, 2 RBI; Micha Fox 2-4, 2B, 2 RBI; Josh Goodrich 3-4, 2B, run
Ferrum: RP Matthew Sheppard (L, 3-1) 2.2 inn, 3 hits, 1 ER, 3K, 2 BB; Thacker 3-5, HR, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB; Michael 1-5, 2-run HR, 2 RBI; Markowtiz 1-2, 2 run-HR, 2 RBI, 2 SB, 3 BB

GAME TWO
Shawn Baxter and Kyle Markowitz hit back to back solo homeruns in the second inning to take a 2-0 Panther lead. The Marlins tied the game in the bottom half of the second on a sac fly and an error. A fielders choice in the third would score a run for Ferrum, and Slade Keyser's two-run single up the middle put Ferrum up 5-2. Clayton Michael extended the lead with a a solo homerun in the fifth inning. 

The Marlins got a run in the fifth and two in the sixth to pull within a run 6-5. In the seventh inning Baxter hit his second solo homerun of the day, Keyser doubled left center and drove in a run. He would come home to score on a fielding error, putting Ferrum up 9-5. A five-run eighth inning gave the Panthers some insurance runs, Baxter hit a bases clearing double to left centerfield, who would score on a fielder's choice. Then Kristian Barcroft singled through the left side, driving in Markowitz. Virginia Wesleyan scored three runs in the ninth to close out the scoring for the day.

KEY STATS
Ferrum: SP Gavin Stone (W, 1-3) 2.0 inn, 4 hits, 1 ER, K, 2 BB; Baxter 3-6, 2 HR, 2B, 6 RBI, 4 runs, SB; Keyser 3-4, 2B, 3 RBI; Markowtiz 1-2, HR, RBI, 3 runs, 3 BB
Virginia Wesleyan: Jack McDowell (L, 5-2) 5.1 inn, 8 hits, 3 ER, 6 K, 4 BB; Thomas Crandall 2-5, 2 RBI; Samuel Kasprow 2-5, 2B, 2 RBI, 2 runs 

UP NEXT
Coach Ryan Brittle's team will be back in action on Tuesday, April 16 against Southern Virginia University. The non-conference game starts at 2 p.m. in Buena Vista, Virginia.