After an eight-day break for exams and commencement, the Diamond Dukes hit the road for their last nonconference games of the 2009 season at George Washington on Monday and at Longwood on Tuesday.

In the Dukes’ last series they lost two games to William & Mary, while the third game was rained out.  JMU has now lost three of its last four games and enters the last week of the season at 28-21 overall, 11-9 in the CAA.  The George Washington Colonials have an overall record of 20-31, while the Longwood Lancers are 25-18 on the season.

With the losses at William & Mary combined with results from the idle weekend, JMU dropped from second to fourth in the conference standings.  Sophomore pitcher Turner Phelps took the first loss of his JMU career in Friday’s game.  Phelps allowed eight runs on 11 hits in 5 2/3 innings as the Dukes lost 8-2.  Freshman pitcher Evan Scott did not fare much better giving up six runs on six hits in three innings in the losing effort on Saturday when JMU was defeated 12-3.

The JMU offense had a rough weekend as it only scored five runs in the two games.  Junior outfielder/third baseman Matt Browning led the team going 4-for-7 with a double, an RBI, and a run scored.  Redshirt junior outfielder Matt Townsend went 3-for-8 with a home run, an RBI, and two runs scored in the series.

George Washington will finish up its seven-game home stand on Monday against JMU.  The Colonials are 4-17 in their last 21 games dating back to March 7, including a weekend sweep by Xavier Friday through Sunday.  GW has a 6.19 team ERA and averages scoring 5.8 runs per game.  Redshirt junior second baseman Sean Rockey leads the team with a .438 batting average, ten home runs, 18 doubles, 58 RBIs, and a .722 slugging percentage.  On May 6, Rockey was named the Colonials’ team MVP.

JMU is 36-13 in the all-time series and 17-5 when playing at George Washington.  The Dukes shutmout the Colonials 10-0 on April 15.  Junior pitcher David Edwards pitched five innings to get the win, and junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi went 3-for-3 with a double, an RBI, and two runs scored.  Last season, JMU won 8-5 in Washington D.C. on sophomore third baseman McKinnon Langston’s game winning single in the 11^th inning.

The Lancers will be playing at home on Tuesday for the first time in 16 games.  It will be Senior Night for Longwood as well.  On the road swing, the Lancers went 6-10 with a doubleheader sweep at the hands of William & Mary on Sunday.  The team is averaging 7.9 runs per game, while posting a 6.01 ERA.  Junior third baseman Phil Cerreto is batting .390 and leads the team with eight home runs and 49 RBIs.

Against Longwood, JMU has compiled a 10-4 record and a 1-2 record at Longwood’s home field.  The Dukes beat the Lancers 16-14 three weeks ago on sophomore shortstop David Herbek’s walk-off three-run home run to complete a six-run ninth.  The game is only the fourth time that JMU has played at Longwood, and the first time since 2007 when the Dukes lost 3-2.  A doubleheader in Farmville last season was rained out.

The George Washington game is scheduled to start at 4 p.m. on Monday.  Then, on Tuesday, JMU takes on Longwood at 7 p.m.  Following the two nonconference games, the Dukes wrap up the 2009 regular season with a crucial three-game, CAA series with George Mason, which leads the nation in winning percentage and has already clinched the top seed for the CAA tournament.  The series will be the last games played at Long Field/Mauck Stadium as the home of the JMU Diamond Dukes, and all three games will feature free admission.