DUKES RUN PAST WILD HOKIES 8-6 IN BASEBALL

Tuesday, April 24

Blacksburg, Va.

7:00 PM

James Madison University

16-25

Virginia Tech

17-24

James Madison

Virginia Tech

4/24/2007 4:00:00 AM | Baseball

Box Score

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 24, 2007 ? James Madison University scored four runs on wild pitches and earned a season series sweep in defeating Virginia Tech 8-6 in a non-conference baseball game on Tuesday evening at English Field.

JMU improved to 16-25 overall and won for the fifth time in its last six games. VT fell to 17-24 overall. The Dukes also defeated the Hokies 8-6 on March 27 at Long Field/Mauck Stadium.

The Dukes had the aid of five wild pitches in the game, including four that scored runs, three in a five-run fourth inning that gave JMU a lead it would not relinquish. The Hokies pulled within one twice at 5-4 and 6-5, but JMU added single runs in the eighth and ninth to clinch the win.

Senior Bobby Lasko (Athens, Pa./Athens Area) pitched the final three innings for the second consecutive game to pick up the save. It was his seventh save of the season and the 13^th of his career to tie Travis Risser (2004-05) for the JMU record.

Freshman Dustin Crouch (Amherst, Va./Amherst) picked up his first collegiate victory. He allowed two runs in 1 2/3 innings, but he was the pitcher of record past the fifth inning. Senior Jacob Cook (Mechanicsville, Va./Lee-Davis) started and allowed three runs in four innings. He moved past John Gouzd (1999-02) on the career innings pitched chart with 257 1/3.

Sophomore Evan Frederickson (Oak Hill, Va./Oakton) took the loss for Tech, surrendering five runs on four hits in 3 2/3 innings. He struck out five but was hurt by wildness with six walks and four wild pitches. Three relievers combined to allow three runs over the final 5 1/3 innings.

Freshman Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) tied his career high with his second consecutive three-hit game. He doubled and scored twice. Sophomore Brett Garner (Burke, Va./Lake Braddock) and freshman Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) also scored twice, with Foltz adding a pair of stolen bases to increase his Colonial Athletic Association lead to 20. Redshirt senior Mitchell Moses (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin) had two hits and an RBI.

Senior Nate Parks (Roanoke, Va./Glenvar) had three hits and scored a run for the Hokies. Sophomore Sean Ryan (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) had two hits and two RBIs. Senior Bryan Thomas (Wilmington, N.C./Hoggard), senior Warren Schaeffer (Vandergrift, Pa./Greensburg Central Catholic), and junior Jose Cueto (Miami, Fla./Braddock) each added two hits for VT.

Tech jumped on the board for two runs in the first inning. The first came around on an infield single by Thomas that got away from Stoneburner at short stop for an error, allowing redshirt junior Sean O'Brien (Chappaqua, N.Y./Greeley) to come around and score. Thomas reached third on a wild pitch and scored on an RBI groundout by freshman Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va./Notre Dame Academy).

JMU had a chance at a big inning in the third with a walk by redshirt junior Joe Lake (Elkridge, Md./Long Reach), a double by senior Davis Stoneburner (Richmond, Va./Mills Godwin), and a walk by junior Kellen Kulbacki (Palmyra, Pa./Hershey). That brought up redshirt sophomore Lee Bujakowski (Hopewell, Va./Hopewell), but the CAA Player of the Week swung through a high fastball on a full count to end the threat.

Browning reached on a five-pitch walk to start the fourth inning. Moses sacrificed him to second and Browning came around on successive wild pitches over the catcher's head. Two walks and a single then loaded the bases with one out. Another wild pitch by Frederickson brought in Garner for the tying run. The fourth wild pitch of the inning Freshman Mike Fabiaschi (Torrington, Conn./Torrington) picked up an RBI single bouncing just past