Dukes Take Series Opener Against Elon

Friday, April 1

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

15-10, 3-1

Elon

13-12, 1-3

Elon

James Madison

4/1/2022 7:58:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – In the first matchup since 2019 against Elon, James Madison baseball came away with an 8-4 victory in the series opener on Friday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes move to 15-10, 3-1 and have won seven of their last nine games. The Phoenix drop to 13-12, 1-3.

Graduate student Justin Showalter got the start, going four innings with four strikeouts. Redshirt sophomore Sean Culkin earned his second victory behind a hitless career-high 2.2 innings. At the plate, redshirt sophomore Jacob Steinberg led the Dukes going 2-for-3 with a double, a walk, and two RBI's.

How It Happened
The Dukes tossed a four-spot on the scoreboard to give them a lead in the first that they would never give up. After redshirt junior Trevon Dabney was hit to start the inning, redshirt sophomore Chase DeLauter drove a ball over the right field wall for a 2-0 lead. A walk and a single would put two on for Steinberg later in the inning, who drove a single into left field for the 4-0 lead.

The teams were both able to score a run in the third as Elon hit an RBI triple and freshman Jason Schiavone drove in a run on a single for JMU. The Phoenix then made it a 5-3 game in the fourth on back-to-back two-out singles.

Freshman Fenwick Trimble was able to extend the lead back out to four for the Dukes in the sixth on a single with bases loaded to plate two and make the score 7-3. Redshirt junior Carson Bell then hit a sacrifice fly to left field and scored redshirt junior Kyle Novak for an 8-3 lead.

Culkin was able to keep Elon off the board in the seventh and eighth, with his only base runners being from walks. Elon added a run in the ninth after a JMU pitching change, but the Dukes were able to hang on for the 8-4 win.

Game Notes

Trevon Dabney was hit by a pitch three times, tying the school record for most in a single game. He moved into second all-time in career hit by pitches with 42 and into eighth in a single season with 14.
Chase DeLauter has now drawn a walk in seven straight games.
The Dukes hit .417 (5-12) with two outs.
DeLauter and Nick Zona both extended their hit streaks to eight, while Dabney's moved to seven.

Up Next
The two squads will square off again in the middle series at 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 2 at Veterans Memorial Park, with the game on FloSports.