RICHMOND, Va. – For six-plus innings, the A-10 Baseball Championship winners bracket semifinal was a mirror image of itself. The reflection broke in the top of the eighth inning, leading to a 10-4 win for top-seeded VCU over No. 3 Rhode Island Friday at The Diamond.
 
Both teams, sharing the Rams nickname, started pitchers named Webb (Bradford for VCU and Mike for Rhode Island) who threw a pitchers' duel through five innings. Each team then scored twice in the sixth and traded two-run homers in the bottom of the seventh and top of the eighth. The game also featured a number of spectacular defensive plays by both teams.
 
But VCU (36-14) shattered the mirror after tying the game in the top of the eighth, scoring eight unanswered runs combined in the eighth and ninth to secure the win. The Richmond-based Rams advance to Saturday's Championship Final, while Rhode Island (28-25-1) will play No. 2 Dayton in the consolation final Friday at 3:30 pm.
 
Both Webbs spun no-decisions gems through five, with Bradford allowing just three hits and no runs with eight strikeouts and no walks. Mike gave up two runs on eight hits with five strikeouts and a walk. Edwin Serrano (4-4) got the win for VCU for three innings of work, allowing one hit and one run. Vitaly Jangols (2-3) took the loss for four runs on five hits.
 
Hunter Vay was the VCU hero, cranking a pair of home runs, including the two-run shot that tied the game in the top of the eighth. Hogan Brown then had a sac fly and Steven Carpenter, Tyler Locklear and Liam Hibbits all had run-scoring hits. Vay put the cherry on top with a two-run homer in the top of the ninth.
 
Jack Schroeder and Hunter Vay each tallied RBI in the sixth when VCU recorded the first two runs of the game. Max Mircovich countered those runs for Rhody, with an RBI double down the left field line in the bottom of the sixth. Sonny Ulliana, who lead Rhode Island with a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, then homered in the bottom of the seventh to give URI a 4-2 lead. Ulliana and Mircovich each had a team-high two RBI.
 
Vay was 4-for-5 with five RBI, and Carpenter was 3-for-6 to lead VCU.