Dominant Showing from Burke Leads JMU to a 4-0 Over FDU

Saturday, February 26

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

3-3

Fairleigh Dickinson

1-5

Fairleigh Dickinson

James Madison

Photo by: JMU

2/26/2022 5:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Redshirt sophomore Donovan Burke took a perfect game into the seventh inning and tossed a career-high 13 strikeouts to lead James Madison (3-3) to a 4-0 win over Fairleigh Dickinson (1-5) Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

Burke went a career-high seven innings, allowing just one hit and one walk with his 13 strikeouts. At the plate, the Dukes were led by Trevon Dabney who went a perfect 3-for-3 with a home run, an RBI, a walk, and two runs scored. The three hits tie a career-high.

How It Happened
Burke did not allow the first opposing base runner of the game until the seventh, retiring the first 18 batters of the game. He recorded two strikeouts in every inning through the sixth, except for the third.

The perfect game was brought to an end on the first batter of the seventh, as a good throw was dropped at first base. The next at bat would end the subsequent no-hitter, as infield single and then an errant throw to first allowed runners to get into scoring position. Burke however used a pair of strikeouts and a grounder to strand the FDU runners.

Meanwhile, the Dukes were giving him early run support. The Dukes struck first, getting a run in the first after Dabney led off with a single and advanced to second on a grounder before redshirt junior Kyle Novak brought him home on a single. JMU scored again in the second, as redshirt sophomore Chase DeLauter singled in redshirt junior Carson Bell, who led off the inning with a double.

The Dukes held onto the 2-0 lead for the next four innings, until Dabney took the first pitch he saw in the seventh and hit the left field foul pole for a home run and a 3-0 lead. A single off the bat of Bell to score redshirt sophomore Mason Dunaway in the eighth increased the lead to 4-0.

Game Notes

Donovan Burke's 13-strikeout performance followed Justin Showalter's 10-strikeout performance the previous game, being the first time since March 11-12, 2006 that the Dukes had pitchers toss back-to-back double digit strikeouts. Greg Nesbitt tossed 13 on March 11 followed by Ryan Reid striking out 13 of his own on March 12, both games against William & Mary.
Showalter and Burke also provided the first back-to-back quality starts for JMU since Nick Stewart and Showalter on Feb. 21-22, 2020 against Quinnipiac. Stewart tossed six shutout innings on Feb. 21 before Showalter followed with a one-hitter.

Up Next
The Dukes look to complete the sweep on Sunday, Feb. 26 as they complete the series with Fairleigh Dickinson. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Veterans Memorial Park.