DESPITE FOUR HOMERS, DUKES FALL 9-6 TO KENT STATE

Saturday, March 12

Harrisonburg, Va.

TBA

James Madison University

1-9

Kent State

6-5

Kent State

James Madison

3/12/2005 12:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

DESPITE FOUR HOMERS, DUKES FALL 9-6 TO KENT STATE

Matt Sluder hit a pair of homers Saturday.

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. (3/12/05) – Kent State took a 6-0 lead after the first two innings and withstood a four-homer performance by host James Madison to post a 9-6 non-conference baseball victory on a cold and windy Saturday afternoon at Long Field/Mauck Stadium.

The Golden Flashes beat the Dukes for the third straight time and climbed above the break-even mark for the first time this season with a record of 6-5. The Dukes' worst start in the program's 35-year history continued, falling to 1-9 with their sixth straight loss.

KSU junior designated hitter Kurt Eichorn (Galion, Ohio/Lexington) went 3-for-5 and drove in four runs while junior second baseman Drew Saylor (Wadsworth, Ohio/Wadsworth) turned in a 3-for-4 day at the plate with one RBI. Senior first baseman Andy Hargrove (Richfield, Ohio/St. Ignatius) went 2-for-5 with a pair of RBI.

Eichorn, the clean-up hitter, made his first trip to the plate with the bases loaded and no outs in the first inning. He delivered a single through the hole into right field for a 2-0 KSU lead. He added a pair of RBI singles later in the game, making him 5-for-9 with seven RBI in the first two games of the series.

Sophomore Andrew Davis (Chillicothe, Ohio/Zane Trace) pitched the final 1 1/3 innings to gain his third save of the year. He preserved the win for senior right-hander Jason Brunke (Carroll Stream, Ill./Glenbard North), who worked 7 1/3 and allowed two earned runs on five hits and a walk while fanning three en route to his first decision of 2005.

The Dukes received a pair of homers from junior catcher Matt Sluder (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis), who hit a two-run blast in the seventh and a solo shot in the ninth. Sluder finished with his second three-hit outing in three games, and he doubled his career total for home runs.

Sophomore Davis Stoneburner (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) got the Dukes on the scoreboard with a solo homer in the fifth. Junior second baseman Michael Cowgill (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) launched his team-leading third homer, a two-run shot, in the eighth.

Of JMU's 13 homers to date, seven have come with the bases empty.

JMU junior center fielder Skyler Doom (Yorktown, Va./York) extended his hitting streak to a career-tying-best six games with the first three-hit showing of his career. He is 12-for-25 (.480) with three doubles, one triple and one homer during the streak.