Featured image by: Brett Nweeia

Some wins aren’t always how you draw them out from the beginning. 

In a close battle, the Ospreys eked out a 5-4 win over VMI on a walk-off balk in the bottom of the ninth. 

Logan Clayton received the nod to start for the Ospreys and the sophomore had a solid outing, going 5.1 innings and allowed three earned runs with four punchouts. 

The Ospreys struck first in the bottom of the second with three runs powered by a two-run single by Raff Libunao. 

Clayton was rolling until the fifth inning when he began to hit the wall, allowing three runs off of an RBI double, three wild pitches and a fielder’s choice to tie the game. 

When Zach Chappell entered the game, the sophomore dominated with 2.2 innings of one-hit ball and three strikeouts. 

The scoring fell silent until the top of the ninth when Jordan Ebersole singled to right-center to score one for a 4-3 lead. 

Abraham Sequera led off in the final frame with a single and Grant Grodi followed up by reaching on a throwing error to put the runners on first and second. 

Libunao laid down a well placed bunt to move the runners to second and third. 

Tanner May tied the game at four on a fielder’s choice that scored Sequera. 

In one of the wackiest endings to a baseball game, Will Lopez got called for a balk that scored Grodi to win the game, leaving VMI fans up in arms.

Sequera was the only Osprey to record a multi-hit game and also scored two runs.

Libunao had an impressive performance, going 1-3 with two RBIs and made some key plays in the outfield.

The Ospreys begin their season 1-0 and take on VMI on Saturday, Feb. 15 at 2:00 p.m.

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