RICHMOND, Va. (Interstat) — The Norfolk State Spartans, defying heavy statistical odds, used a five-run fifth inning and a parade of effective relievers to secure a 5-3 victory over the VCU Rams in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday evening at The Diamond.

The win improved Norfolk State to 8-15 on the season, while VCU fell to 13-11. Interstat’s game simulator had projected a VCU victory by a score of 7-6, and its ELO system gave the Rams a 90.2% probability to win, making the Spartans’ triumph a significant upset.

The game’s decisive sequence unfolded in the top of the fifth inning. Trailing 2-1, the Spartans sent nine batters to the plate against VCU reliever Bobb. The rally began with a Harrison single and a Burke walk. Jefferson followed with a single to load the bases for Queen, who delivered an RBI single to tie the game. Gillespie then provided the critical blow, a two-run single through the right side that scored Burke and Jefferson, giving Norfolk State a 4-2 lead it would not relinquish. The Spartans added an important insurance run in the eighth on a sacrifice fly by Harrison and an RBI single by Burke.

That offensive outburst was supported by a stellar collective effort from the Norfolk State bullpen. After starter James Godfrey allowed one run in his inning of work, five Spartan relievers combined to throw eight scoreless innings, surrendering just three hits. Myles Crocker set the tone with three hitless innings of relief, allowing one unearned run. He was followed by scoreless outings from Nyenati Snoh, CJ Patterson, Tyler Mitchell and Yasseel Samboy. Samboy earned the save with two perfect innings, striking out one.

VCU out-hit Norfolk State 10-9 but stranded 11 baserunners and was plagued by missed opportunities, including having two runners caught stealing. The Rams scored single runs in the second, fourth and fifth innings. Alec Warden was a bright spot offensively, going 2-for-4 with a triple, a run scored and an RBI. His fifth-inning groundout drove in what proved to be VCU’s final run.

Rams starter Hunter Gotschall took a no-decision after a solid three-inning outing, allowing two hits and no earned runs. The VCU bullpen, aside from the troublesome fifth inning, was effective. Cooper Weygandt and Zach Peters combined for 3.1 scoreless innings of relief, with Peters striking out three.

The most important part of the game was Norfolk State’s five-run fifth-inning rally, which immediately answered VCU’s run in the bottom of the fourth and transformed a one-run deficit into a multi-run lead. This offensive explosion, highlighted by Gillespie’s two-run single, provided the necessary cushion for the Spartans’ dominant relief corps to operate with confidence against a VCU lineup that consistently threatened but could not deliver a key hit with runners in scoring position late in the game.

Norfolk State travels to face Mercyhurst for a three-game series beginning Friday. VCU opens Atlantic 10 Conference play at home against Saint Bonaventure, also starting Friday.