HARRISONBURG, Va. April 28, 2009 – James Madison pulled out to an early 10-1 lead going into the bottom of the third before Maryland responded with 16 unanswered runs to claim a 17-10 victory in a non-conference baseball game Tuesday afternoon at Shipley Field.
UM improved to 21-24 overall and earned a split of the season series after JMU previously won 5-1 in the first week of the season. Madison fell to 27-19 and had a four-game winning streak snapped while also falling for just the second time in 12 games.
The Dukes used a three-run first and seven-run third to pull ahead 10-1. But after that it was all Terrapins with four in the third, three in the fourth, three in the fifth to take the lead, and six in the eighth to put the game away. The Terps used four home runs over a span of six batters in the fourth and fifth innings as part of the comeback.
Adam Kolerek earned the victory as the third of five Maryland pitchers in the game. He was the first of three relievers to pitch a pair of shutout innings as the trio held the Dukes to five singles in the final six innings after a home run and six doubles in the first three.
Freshman Josh Futter (Columbia, Md./Wilde Lake) took the loss after allowing the 10th and 11th runs on three hits in 2 2/3 innings with three strikeouts. Sophomore Alex Valadja (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) started and allowed the first nine runs, seven earned, on seven hits in four innings.
Second baseman David Poutier led Maryland going 3-for-5 with two doubles, a home run, three runs, and five RBIs. Catcher Tyler Bennett was also 3-for-5 with four RBIs on a single, double, and a home run. Third baseman Mike Murphy was 3-for-5 with a double and a solo homer. First baseman Will Greenberg doubled twice and drove in three runs. Shortstop Matthew Murakami also homered.
Sophomore shortstop David Herbek (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) was 3-for-5 with two runs, an RBI, and two doubles. Junior center fielder Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) also doubled twice and scored twice with an RBI. Junior left fielder Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) had two hits with a solo home run in the first. Junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) and junior third baseman Kent Burford (Waynesboro, Va./Stuarts Draft) each singled and walked twice while Fabiaschi extended his hitting streak to 18 games.
The Dukes struck first in the first inning as Foltz doubled to left center on the first pitch of the game. After a hard-struck line-out, Herbek doubled to the corner in left to drive in the first run. After a wild pitch to advance Herbek, redshirt junior Matt Townsend (Lorton, Va./Hayfield) hit a sacrifice fly deep to right to plate the second run. Browning followed with a smashed solo shot to left center for a 3-0 lead, his ninth homer of the season.
In the Maryland second, right fielder A.J. Cassario led off with a walk. Poutier hit a sharp grounder that ricocheted off Valadja and Fabiaschi flipped to second, however Herbek dropped the ball for an error trying to make a quick relay to first. After a strikeout, Bennett lined a single inside the third-base bag to plate the unearned run.
In the third, redshirt sophomore designated hitter Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) led off with a four-pitch walk and Herbek lined a double to the same spot as his first at bat. Townsend then doubled to deep right to plate Knight, but Herbek had to hold up to see if the ball would be caught. However, he scored a few pitches later on a passed ball for a 5-0 score. JMU proceeded to load the bases and redshirt senior first baseman Bryan Lescanec (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle) bounced a single up the middle to plate a pair of runs for a 7-0 score. Foltz smacked a double off the high wall in center to drive in Burford for the eighth JMU run. Knight hit a two-run double to the same spot in center for a 10-0 lead.
Maryland loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the third on a single, double, and a walk. Poutier doubled off the wall in right to plate all three runners. He reached third on the play on a bobble by Townsend and then scored on the next pitch on a sacrifice fly by Greenberg.
In the fourth, left fielder Gerry Spessard led off with a walk. After a pair of flyouts, Murakami narrowly snuck a home run over the center field wall for a 10-7 score. Murphy then blasted a solo shot to left for back-to-back shots and a 10-8 score.
Poutier led off the Maryland fifth with a solo shot to center for a 10-9 score, chasing Valadja from the game. Greenberg then doubled off the wall in right and Bennett slammed a two-run shot to right center to put the Terps ahead 11-10.
The Dukes had an opportunity in the seventh as Burford led off with a single, moved to second on a failed pickoff, and moved to third when Foltz reached on an error to set up runners on the corners with one out. However, Knight grounded out to the pitcher to end the inning without the tying run scoring.
The score held until the eighth when center fielder Dan Benick led off with a double to left center. After a walk, Benick moved to third on a throwing error on a failed pickoff throw to first by redshirt junior catcher Chris Johnson (Shrewsbury, N.J./Red Bank Regional). He then scored on a wild pitch by sophomore left-hander James Weiner (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) for a 12-0 Terps lead. A single and another walk loaded the bases with one out. Poutier doubled into the corner in left to plate two more runs for a 14-10 UM lead. Another double to right center by Greenberg brought in another pair of runs for a 16-10 score. The third consecutive double from Bennett drove in the 17th run.
JMU will be at VMI on Wednesday at 6 p.m. for another non-conference game.
Courtesy: JMUSports.com
