James Madison baseball wrapped up its annual Purple and Gold series Friday with the Gold team winning the final two games to take the five-game series after dropping two of the first three.

Junior utility player Trevor Knight was named the series Most Valuable Player after batting .562 with two doubles, five home runs and nine runs scored in the series.  Knight also led the Gold team in pitching after winning game two and recording a save in game four.

Leading 2-1 in the series, Purple started ace junior Turner Phelps on Wednesday in an attempt to close out the Gold team.  Junior Kyle Hoffman got the start for Gold.  The game was part of JMU’s annual Scout Day with a program-record 25 Major League Baseball scouts in attendance to evaluate JMU players.

Purple came out swinging and led early after three first-inning runs from seniors Alex Foltz, Kent Burford and Matt Townsend.  Gold responded when senior Matt Browning’s single drove in senior Mike Fabiaschi in the bottom of the first.

In the bottom of the fourth, sophomore Jake Lowery’s solo home run cut the lead to 3-2, but Purple responded in the fifth on Foltz’s second run of the game on the back end of a delayed double steal.  Phelps ran into trouble in the bottom of the fifth and was replaced by junior James Weiner after Knight’s two-run homer gave Gold a 5-4 lead. 

Knight replaced Hoffman to shut down Purple in the sixth inning, and homers from senior Brett Garner and Knight in the bottom of the sixth pushed Gold in front 8-5..  Purple rallied to 8-7 in the top of the seventh following Townsend’s two-run shot and consecutive doubles from junior David Herbek and freshman Johnny Bladel.  But Knight completed the save and tied up the series when he got freshman Bradley Shaban to ground out to second.

With the series moving to a decisive fifth game, Friday’s finale opened with Townsend starting for Purple and junior Alex Valadja starting for Gold.  Purple again started fast, scoring three runs after a Bladel double and a Shaban single.  The game remained 3-0 until the top of the sixth when Gold plated two runs with two outs.  Sophomore Beau Banglesdorf and freshman Cole McInturff both singled, and then Fabiaschi doubled off of Weiner, who had relieved senior Jason Kuhn after 2 and 1/3 scoreless innings.  Gold pitcher David Edwards retired the side in order in the sixth.

In the top of the seventh, Gold scored three runs to make it 5-3 after senior Shaun Villenave knocked a two-run triple and Banglesdorf doubled to drive in Villenave.  But Purple refused to go down easily and responded with a two run shot from freshman Billy Logan in the bottom of the seventh to send it to extra innings.

In extra innings, with two outs in the eighth, Lowery singled to right field to score Garner and Knight, who both walked earlier in the inning.  Sophomore Josh Futter took the mound in the bottom of the eighth and retired the side in order to earn the save and end the series, completing Gold’s comeback.

The completion of the series ended JMU’s fall non-traditional season.  The team will continue with individual workouts while preparing to open practice in January at its new facility, Veterans’ Memorial Stadium.  The Dukes return 23 letter winners, including all eight position starters and all but one member of the pitching staff, from last year’s squad.

NOTE: Recap compiled by Sam Foster, JMU Sports Media Relations practicum student