TYSONS, Va. – Third-seeded VCU outlasted a halted game and a Richmond rally to advance to the 2026 Atlantic 10 Baseball Championship semifinals Friday morning at Capital One Park.

The Rams (34-22) will play fifth-seeded Rhode Island in the semifinals on Friday afternoon, with the winner earning a championship game berth. Richmond fell into the consolation bracket and faced George Mason in an elimination game

The game began Thursday, but heavy rains force the game to be stopped in the bottom on the seventh inning with the Rams leading 4-1. The game resumed Friday morning and four pitches into the resumption, Richmond’s Dylan Winebrenner jacked a three-run home run to tie the game.

VCU responded in the eighth with three runs on back-to-back doubles to reclaim the lead. Alec Warden and Dante DeFranco each drove in runs to offset the Richmond rally and secure the win.

The Spiders opened the scoring on Thursday in the first inning with the when a wild pitch allowed Michael Elko to score. A solo homer by VCU’s Nick Flores tied the game in the top of the second. A Jacob Lee third-inning RBI single, followed by a Nick Flores sacrifice that allowed Michael Petite to score on a squeeze play gave the Rams a 3-1 lead. Lee added to the VCU lead with a home run in the fourth.

Lee and Flores each has two hits and two RBI for the Rams, and DeFrano also has two RBI. Zachary Peters (7-1) got the win for VCU, allowing just one hit with two runs allowed and five strikeouts.

Winebrenner’s three RBI led the Spiders, who shared their four hits among four different players. Justin Gay (0-4) took the loss for Richmond, throwing two innings with four hits and three runs allowed.