SECOND-PLACE TEAMS MEET AS JMU BASEBALL TRAVELS TO DELAWARE

Easter weekend will feature a key showdown in the Colonial Athletic Association baseball race as James Madison (26-12, 11-7 CAA) and Delaware (20-16, 11-7 CAA), two teams tied for second place entering the weekend, meet in a three-game set at Bob Hannah Stadium in Newark.

The series begins with a 3 p.m. game Friday followed by 1 p.m. matchups on Saturday and Sunday. The two teams are currently part of a three-way tie for second place in the CAA and trail first-place UNC Wilmington (21-16, 10-5 CAA) by only a half game.

JMU improved to 26-12 on the season after defeating Maryland Tuesday night 6-1 at Shipley Field. Nine pitchers threw from the mound for the Dukes over the course of nine innings, giving up four hits and one run to match season lows. Senior Alex Valadja was awarded the win as JMU took the early 2-0 lead in the first before he took the mound. On offense, the Dukes had 12 hits and first baseman Matt Tenaglia finished 3-for-5 with three RBIs, including a pair of key two-out hits to stake the early lead.

Shortstop David Herbek leads the Dukes with a batting average of .386 with 59 hits and 14 doubles. He had two hits in the win against Maryland on Tuesday. D.J. Brown, recently converted from a starting role to closer, leads on the mound with an ERA of 5.05 and a 5-0 record.

Among JMU's hottest players are outfielder Johnny Bladel, the reigning CAA Co-Player of the Week, and first baseman Matt Tenaglia. Bladel has scored 11 runs in the last five games with a .545 average. Tenaglia is hitting .440 over the same stretch with three doubles and eight RBIs. The Dukes have a 4.36 team ERA over the last five games with a .227 opponent average.

SCOUTING DELAWARE

The Blue Hens are 20-16 overall and 11-7 in the CAA. They are coming off their first CAA series loss in the last three weekend series after losing both games of a doubleheader on Sunday at Towson. Most recently, on Wednesday they defeated Saint Joseph's 5-3

Senior Pat Dameron leads Delaware on offense with a .353 batting average, while senior first baseman Steve Ulaky is the top power threat with nine home runs, 34 RBIs and a .603 slugging percentage. The most-called reliever is Jeff Murray, who has 21 appearances in 36 games, a 3.03 ERA and a 26-to-7 strikeout-to-walk ratio.

SERIES HISTORY

JMU leads the series 19-14 all-time over Delaware. The Dukes have won nine of the last 10 against the Blue Hens, including a seep last year in Harrisonburg with scores of 6-4, 12-4 and 5-4. In last year's series, Jake Lowery went 8-for-11 (.727) while Johnny Bladel hit .556 with a double and two triples. The pitching staff limited the Blue Hens to 20 hits over the 27 innings, however only 7 1/3 of those innings were thrown by pitchers still on the roster.

STARTING PITCHERS

Game 1 - Friday, 3 p.m.

JMU - Sean Tierney