RICHMOND, Va. (Interstat) — Patrick Steitz pitched six innings of one-hit shutout ball and the Virginia Commonwealth Rams routed the Davidson Wildcats 10-0 on Thursday afternoon at The Diamond.

Steitz scattered one hit, struck out six and walked two in his second consecutive dominant outing. The right-hander allowed only one earned run over his previous start May 8 at Saint Joseph’s and worked efficiently Thursday, retiring the side in order twice and never allowing a Davidson runner past second base.

Cooper Campbell followed with three innings of one-hit relief, striking out three, as VCU improved to 30-22 overall and 14-9 in the Atlantic 10. The Rams have won seven of their last nine games. Davidson dropped to 25-24 and 11-12 in conference play after its fourth straight loss and seventh in nine games.

VCU scored four runs in the second inning, three in the third and three in the seventh to put the game out of reach.

Jacob Lee ignited the second-inning rally with a single, then scored on Nick Flores’ double to left field. Quinn Maher drove in Flores with a single, and Alec Warden doubled to put runners at second and third. After a groundout, Dante DeFranco singled up the middle to score Maher and Warden for a 4-0 lead.

Lee led off the third inning with a solo home run to left-center field. Maher later doubled down the right-field line to drive in a run, and Trent Adelman executed a sacrifice bunt that scored Maher to make it 7-0.

Adelman broke the game open in the seventh inning. With one out, Warden singled and scored from second on a throwing error by Davidson shortstop Nicholas Rice on the same play. Adelman then crushed a two-run home run to left-center field, scoring Warden and extending the lead to 10-0.

Adelman finished 1-for-3 with the homer and three RBIs. Maher went 3-for-4 with two RBIs, and Warden was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Lee had two hits, including his solo homer, and drove in a run. Flores, Nate Kirkpatrick and DeFranco each recorded two hits.

Davidson managed only two hits – a fourth-inning single by Braden Lietz and an eighth-inning single by Liam Edwards. The Wildcats walked five times but left seven runners on base, including two in scoring position in the fifth inning.

Ivan Hoyt pitched 1 1/3 innings of scoreless relief for Davidson, the lone bright spot for a staff that surrendered 16 hits and walked four.

The game was the first of a three-game weekend series between the two schools. Davidson has dropped three straight series after being swept at home by Rhode Island last weekend. VCU swept Saint Joseph’s on the road last weekend and has won five of its six conference series.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of Davidson 6, VCU 8, while Interstat’s ELO system gave the Rams a 62.30 percent probability to win.