Brad Babcock’s No. 16 Retired; Dukes Take First Series Ever Against Elon

Saturday, April 2

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

16-10, 4-1

Elon

13-13, 1-4

Elon

James Madison

Brad Babcock’s No. 16 Retired; Dukes Take First Series Ever Against Elon

4/2/2022 9:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – On the day that former head coach Brad Babcock, the winningest skipper in program history, had his No. 16 retired, James Madison baseball was able to take their first series in the all-time series against Elon as they won the middle game, 8-4, on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park. This is the sixth three-game series ever between the two teams, with Babcock the coach for JMU's first ever win over Elon in 1977.

The Dukes have won three straight and move to 16-10, 4-1 while the Phoenix fall to 13-13, 1-4.

Redshirt senior Liam McDonnell got the starting nod for JMU, going four innings and giving up two runs with two strikeouts. Redshirt sophomore Hunter Entsminger earned his second win on the year with a hitless inning of relief. Freshman Fenwick Trimble led the Dukes at the plate, going 2-for-4 with a run and a career-high four RBI's.

How It Happened
The Dukes got on the board early, scoring on a wild pitch after redshirt sophomore Chase DeLauter singled and stole two bases before crossing home for a 1-0 lead. Elon tied it in the third on a two-out double for a 1-1 score.

After DeLauter drew a two-out walk in the bottom of the third, redshirt junior Kyle Novak drove him in on a single to give JMU the lead back. Trimble then took a pitch over the center field wall for his third career homer to give the Dukes a 4-1 lead. The Phoenix got a run back in the fourth, but JMU pushed the lead back to three in the bottom of the fifth on a bunt single for a 5-2 lead.

In the sixth, Elon once again scored to cut the lead to two, but the JMU bats responded with two runs in the bottom half of the inning. After loading the bases, Novak was hit by a pitch to bring home a run. The next at bat, Trimble hit a deep fly ball that was caught at the wall. Controversy ensued on whether it was a catch or if it hit the wall first, and after the decision of an out was decided, the controversy continued on whether the runners tagged up on the play or not. Ultimately it would be scored a sacrifice fly and give JMU a 7-3 lead.

Elon scored a run in the seventh, but a Trevon Dabney home run in the eighth, his sixth of the season, would be the final nail in the JMU 8-4 victory coffin.

Game Notes

Chase DeLauter tied a program record with four stolen bases in the game. He is the sixth JMU base stealer to steal four in a game, and the first since Joe Lake at George Washington on April 11, 2007.
DeLauter also tied a career-high with three runs scored.
Fenwick Trimble is the first freshman to have four RBI's in a game since Trevon Dabney knocked in four against Norfolk State on Feb. 15, 2019.
The Dukes have won their first two conference series in a season for the first since 2016 when they took down Northeastern and then Delaware.

Up Next
JMU and Elon meet in the series finale on Sunday, April 3 for a 1 p.m. first pitch at Veterans Memorial Park. The game will be streamed on FloSports.