ARLINGTON, Va., April 23, 2008 – Freshman McKinnon Langston (Tallahassee, Fla./North Florida Christian) hit the go-ahead RBI single in the 11th inning and redshirt senior Trevor Kaylid (Cary, N.C./Green Hope) followed with a two-run double as James Madison University defeated George Washington University 8-5 on Wednesday afternoon at Barcroft Park.
JMU improved to 28-10 overall and built its road mark to 13-4 after entering the game tied for the ninth-best away record in the country. The three-run 11th marked the second straight game the Dukes scored three runs in their last turn at bat to break a tie. JMU is 2-0 in extra-inning games, having won in 11 at Old Dominion. GWU fell to 18-22 overall and lost for the 10th time in its last 12 games.
The teams had played six scoreless innings heading into the 11th. Redshirt sophomore Steven Caseres (New City, N.Y./St. Joseph Regional) earned a leadoff walk and reached second on redshirt freshman Trevor Knight’s (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) sacrifice bunt. Langston then knocked a single to right to drive in the go-ahead run. After a hit batter, Kaylid lined a double to the gap in left center in his first collegiate at bat to score a pair of runs.
Three JMU relief pitchers combined to hold the Colonials scoreless over the final eight innings. Knight earned the victory after working a scoreless 10th and 11th with three strikeouts to improve to 6-1. Kaylid tossed four innings with four strikeouts, allowing only one hit and one walk. Freshman Alex Valadja (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) started in his first appearance since February and allowed all five runs on seven hits with four walks in three innings.
Junior Jimmy Duggan (Jefferson, Md./St. John’s Prospect Hall) entered in the 11th and retired just one batter, surrendering two runs on one hit with a walk. That spoiled the relief effort of sophomore Ryan LaPointe (Somersworth, N.H./Phillips Exeter Academy), who had held the Dukes scoreless for 6 1/3 innings on just four hits. Junior Chris Neary (Phoenix, Az./Sunnyslope) started and allowed five runs on six hits with four walks, four hit batters, and two balks.
Six JMU batters had two hits apiece to account for 12 of the team’s 13 hits. Redshirt senior Joe Lake (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach) was 2-for-4 with a double and a pair of walks. Sophomore Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) had a pair of hits with a double, two hit by pitches, and scored twice. Freshman David Herbek (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) singled twice with a hit by pitch, stolen base, run, and RBI. Sophomore Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) was 2-for-4 with a double, two RBIs, and a run. Langston had two hits with an RBI and a run, while redshirt sophomore Chris Johnson (Shrewsbury, N.J./Redbank Regional) singled twice, scored twice, and was hit by a pitch.
Junior Tim Reeves (Cumming, Ga./North Forsyth) singled twice with a pair of RBIs and a walk for the Colonials. Senior Andrew Abokhair (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) had two hits with an RBI double. Sophomore Sean Rockey (Sammamish, Wash./Eastlake) also had two hits with a double and scored twice. Sophomore Tom Zebroski (Port Washington, N.Y./Paul Schreiber) had a two-run single and walked. Junior Doug Eizen (Philadelphia, Pa./Haverford School) singled twice.
GW had four consecutive batters reach base to start the game with a single and a walk followed by a balk to set up the leadoff batters on second and third. Reeves then singled through the left side to score one, but the second runner was thrown out at the plate on one hop by Browning. Another single set up first and third before a popup to first on a bunt resulted in a double play to end the inning.
JMU came back in the second inning with Johnson reaching on a two-out single. He moved to second on a balk and came around on Herbek’s shallow fly ball to center that dropped for a single.
The Colonials came back to load the bases on a single and a pair of walks in the bottom of the second. After an infield popup, Zebroski lined a two-run single to left center for a 3-1 lead. Reeves followed with an RBI base hit through the right side.
The Dukes got a one-out rally going in the fourth with three consecutive batters getting hit by a pitch. Foltz then sliced a line drive to left that dropped just in front of the diving left fielder, junior Andrew Haberern (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus), to score a pair of runs. A walk reloaded the bases before a shallow popup to right field by redshirt junior Brett Sellers (Greencastle, Pa./Greencastle-Antrim) was caught by the second baseman, resulting in a sacrifice fly to tie the score. A bases-loaded walk by Knight gave the Dukes their first lead of the game at 5-4. The four JMU runs came on just one hit.
GW tied the game in the bottom of the fifth. Rockey smashed a leadoff double off the wall in left center. After freshman Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) relieved Valadja and retired his first two batters, Abokhair drilled a double off the wall in left for the RBI.
After plenty of scoring early, the teams traded zeros all the way to the 11th inning when JMU claimed the victory with a three-run inning.
The Dukes will be back home on Friday at 3 p.m. to open up a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series against VCU.
Courtesy: JMUSports.com
