VMI Baseball announced on May 11 that it will begin its final homestand of the regular season, starting with a game against Norfolk State on Tuesday at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium.
The Keydets, holding a record of 27-23 overall and 3-15 in the Southern Conference, are seeking to end their recent slump as they face the Spartans (19-28, 9-9 Northeast Conference) in their last non-conference matchup. This marks the third and final meeting between VMI and Norfolk State this season.
VMI has built its identity under Head Coach Sam Roberts around speed on the base paths, leading NCAA Division I in stolen bases for three consecutive seasons. The team set a program record with 209 steals in 2025 and currently has accumulated 169 steals this year. Offensively, VMI has drawn 261 walks and been hit by pitches 102 times so far this season. The Keydets have also remained undefeated when scoring seven or more runs.
Senior Grayson Fitzwater is approaching career milestones with only thirteen runs needed to reach two hundred career runs; he already holds the program record with two hundred eighteen RBIs. Other players have also reached notable achievements: Bradley Garner ranks second in the league with twenty doubles; Cole Raile is among conference leaders with fourteen home runs; Owen Prince leads both his team and conference in stolen bases; Hunter Sipe leads VMI’s pitching staff in strikeouts and innings pitched while maintaining one of the lowest earned run averages among SoCon pitchers.
Norfolk State enters Tuesday’s contest after losing both previous meetings to VMI this year but has rebounded each time with subsequent winning streaks. Their roster features experienced players including two graduate students and eleven seniors. Thomas Ealey leads their offense with a .384 batting average and seventy-one hits while Justin Journette contributes sixteen home runs.
Merrill “M.L.” Morgan is serving his first year as head coach for Norfolk State after previously working as an assistant coach at Virginia Commonwealth University and as an area scout supervisor for Major League Baseball’s Tampa Bay Rays.
