LEXINGTON, Va. — VMI's Bradley Garner hit a walk-off three-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning to lift the host Keydets to a 7-4 victory over the Cornell baseball team, claiming the series in the rubber match of this weekend's three-game set on Sunday afternoon at Lamore Field at Gray-Minor Stadium.

Garner was joined by VMI first baseman Grayson Fitzwater in driving in three runs for the Keydets (17-3), who registered their second walk-off victory in as many weekends.

Sophomore catcher Mason Barela gave Cornell an early 1-0 lead with a first-inning RBI single, but VMI responded in the bottom of the frame when Owen Prince led off with a triple and scored on a Grayson Fitzwater sacrifice fly to tie the game. Cornell regained the lead in the third on an RBI single by freshman right fielder Jake Hower.

Cornell senior right-handed pitcher Ethan Hamill was efficient in his five-inning start, needing just 61 pitches while allowing one run on three hits, striking out three without issuing a walk. Freshman first baseman Aiden Barclay's sacrifice fly in the sixth extended Cornell's lead to 3-1, but Hamill's departure proved costly.

Junior right-hander Ethan Van Sice entered to begin the sixth, and the Keydets pounced. Fitzwater greeted the bullpen with his program-record 48th career home run to tie the game, and an Ayden Schnarrs RBI single following a Cole Raile double gave VMI its first lead at 4-3.

Freshman right-hander Ross Yoshida steadied the ship from there, escaping a bases-loaded jam later in the sixth to prevent further damage before allowing just a four-pitch walk across the seventh and eighth innings. Fellow junior right-handed pitcher Max Foster, however, couldn't finish the job in the ninth.

Cornell made it interesting with two outs in the ninth. After VMI's Eli Tyndall had limited the Big Red's offense to just one hit across 2 1/3 innings of relief, junior second baseman Owen Carlson notched his third hit of the game with a bloop single to center on the first pitch thrown by closer Buddy Baker. Senior center fielder Caden Wildman came through with an RBI double on the first pitch he saw, glancing off Cole Cook's glove on the warning track at the left-field wall to tie the game before Garner's walk-off blast.

VMI starter Roberto Velasquez scattered six hits and allowed two runs over four innings, issuing two walks and striking out seven.

GAME NOTES
• Along with claiming the series victory, VMI also took the lead in the all-time series, 7-6. The Keydets have won consecutive games against Cornell for the first time since winning three straight between April 3, 1928, and April 1, 1929.

• Barela extended his career-long hit streak to nine games with his first-inning RBI single. During his current streak, he is slashing .487/.500/.564 with three RBI. Five of his nine games have featured him registering multiple hits.

• Carlson had three hits in the loss, his second three-hit game of the weekend, while scoring a career-high three runs. On the weekend, Carlson batted .600 (6-for-10) with a .600/.714/.700 slash line with a double, RBI and drawing four walks and did not have strike out once.

• Sophomore designated hitter Troy Ashkinos registered his first Division I base hit, legging out an infield single to begin the fourth inning.

UP NEXT
Cornell will conclude its season-opening 16-game road trip next weekend when it opens Ivy League play at Princeton (5-10) at Clarke Field in Princeton, N.J. The three-game series is scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 21, with a doubleheader at 11:30 a.m. The series finale will be held Sunday, March 22, at noon. All three games are scheduled to be streamed live on ESPN+.

Last year, Princeton took two out of three games from Cornell at Booth Field to conclude the 2025 regular season. The Big Red powered its way to a 15-1 win in the series opener, mashing a season-high six home runs in the victory. Mark Quatrani and Kyle Musser each hit two home runs apiece. The Tigers took the nightcap of the twin bill, 9-5, before claiming the rubber match, 5-2, the following day.

The Big Red have not won a season series over Princeton under the Ivy League's current three-game weekend format. The Big Red's last time winning the regular season series over the Tigers was in 2015, when it took three out of four games — sweeping a doubleheader at Hoy Field on April 26 after splitting a twin bill at Clarke Field two days prior.