VCU baseball's resurgent season comes to promising end in Greenville Regional (2024)

The emotion etched across the face of VCU baseball second-year coach Bradley LeCroy told the whole story.

Sitting at the podium for the postgame press conference following his Rams’ season-ending 10-7 loss to No. 16 East Carolina on Sunday in the Greenville (N.C.) Regional, LeCroy got choked up recounting the journey upon which his program embarked in 2024.

“I told (my players) they mean the world to me. We were a team last year (in my) first year as a head coach, we didn’t even make the conference tournament,” LeCroy said before looking down, shaking his head and taking a moment to reflect.

“And for them to stick with me and do what we did was awesome. Just, from day one, how awesome it was, it was great. And it’s all about those kids in that dugout.”

Indeed, LeCroy’s Rams made strides to be proud of this spring, steps indicative of a healthy program on the rise under its new leader, who succeeded longtime assistant (2007-2012) and head coach (2012-2022) Shawn Stiffler following his departure for Notre Dame.

In 2023, VCU, beset by pitching injuries and inconsistency, finished 25-30 and missed out on the Atlantic 10 tournament.

Excluding the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, that was the program’s lowest win total and first losing season since 2011.

Signs of growth were essential this spring.

The Rams (38-23) showed that and then some, winning nine of their last 10 conference games en route to an A-10 title that propelled them to the NCAA tournament, where they earned a gritty 1-0 win over Wake Forest before falling to eventual regional champion Evansville 17-11 and ECU.

As fate would have it, the pitching was the story in that victory over the No. 22-ranked Demon Deacons.

Senior starter Christian Gordon (8-2) spun a gem through 7⅔ innings, striking out a career-high 13 hitters and allowing just three baserunners via two hits and a walk.

Midlothian native, Trinity Episcopal alumnus and first-team all-A-10 reliever Brian Curley came on to preserve the shutout and earn his third save of a stellar sophom*ore season.

In 2023, VCU finished 257th of 295 Division I squads with a 7.57 team ERA.

A number of transfers, recruits and improved returners, coupled with the addition of pitching coach and former Rams great Sean Thompson, constituted the plan to turn the Rams’ hurlers around, and that strategy paid major dividends this spring.

As of Monday, VCU was 45th nationally in team ERA at 4.86 and 70th in fielding percentage at .975.

Offensively, senior third baseman and Powhatan High alumnus Brandon Eike took the A-10 by storm on his way to conference player-of-the-year honors.

Eike, who could have turned pro last year and will surely hear his name called in this summer’s MLB draft, paced the Rams in average (.378), hits (95) home runs (14), RBIs (62), doubles (27) and slugging percentage (.661).

Replacing his bat at the heart of the order will be a tall task, to be sure.

But young pieces such as sophom*ore outfielder Aiden Hill and freshman first baseman Chris McHugh appear ready to take on more prominent roles for a program undoubtedly on an upward trajectory as attention turns to LeCroy’s third year at the helm.

“I’m proud of my guys, we had an outstanding season, a big turnaround from last year,” LeCroy said after the loss to ECU, a game in which the Rams fought back from 6-0 and 8-2 deficits to get the tying run to the plate in the eighth inning.

“I told them (his players) there’s no reason to hang your heads. We had a great season ... You want to keep playing in the month of June. Every time we get a chance, an opportunity, it’s going to make us better for next year when we’re right back in a regional and trying to take that next step to get to a super regional and eventually, one day, get to Omaha.

“That’s our goal. We don’t shy away from it.”