Baseball Drops CAA Opener at UNCW 10-7

Friday, March 9

Wilmington, N.C.

4:00 PM

James Madison University

5-8-1, 0-1

UNCW

4-9, 1-0

James Madison

UNCW

3/9/2012 9:25:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

WILMINGTON, N.C., March 9, 2012 - After trailing by five runs early, UNCW struck for four runs in consecutive innings in the fourth and fifth and went on to defeat James Madison 10-7 in the Colonial Athletic Association baseball opener for both teams on Friday afternoon at Brooks Field.

UNCW snapped a three-match losing streak to improve to 4-9 for the season and 1-0 in the CAA. JMU lost its third in a row and dropped its CAA opener for the first time in the last five years. The Dukes had won six of their last seven games against the Seahawks and lost for the first time this season when scoring at least seven runs.

JMU had the upper hand in the early innings, pulling ahead 5-0 through the top of the fourth. However, UNCW finally broke through in a big way against JMU redshirt-senior left-hander Sean Tierney (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) in the bottom of the inning with four runs on three hits.

UNCW continued the onslaught in the fifth with another four runs on five hits to chase Tierney from the game. It was the second time in the last three games for JMU to be done in by consecutive four-run innings.

The Dukes pulled within a run at 8-7 thanks to two in the sixth, but UNCW added one in the sixth and one in the eighth and escaped a jam with JMU's first two batters reaching base in the eighth as the Seahawks earned the 10-7 triumph.

In a matchup of two of the CAA's more highly-regarded starting pitchers, both offenses were able to accumulate big numbers. Tyler McSwain earned the win for UNCW. He entered the day with a 1.89 ERA before allowing seven runs, six earned, on eight hits in six innings. Jack Lane picked up his first save of the season with a perfect 1 2/3 innings to close.

Tierney ran his streak of shutout innings this season to 15 and his run of consecutive career scoreless frames at Brooks Field to 12 before UNCW's four-run fourth. He entered the day with a 2.60 ERA before being touched for eight runs on seven hits in 4 2/3 innings. He had previously allowed just 32 total runs in 82 innings pitched in his JMU career.

The Seahawks were led by the offensive trio of center fielder Andrew Cain, left fielder Thomas Pope and catcher Drew Farber. Cain was 4-for-5 with two runs and three RBIs. Pope was 3-for-5 with four RBIs and a triple, the only hit out of 14 for UNCW to go for extra bases. Farber was 3-for-3 with a walk.

JMU was led by nine hits from the bottom five spots in the order while the first four batters combined to go 1-for-18. Senior designated hitter Evan Scott (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) matched his career high with three RBIs and a pair of hits, including a solo home run. Junior left fielder Colby Roberts (Benton, Ark./Benton), freshman shortstop Chad Carroll (Oakton, Va./Oakton) and junior center fielder Cole McInturff (Centreville, Va./Westfield) each had two hits and scored twice. Redshirt freshman first baseman Ryan Kilmon (Virginia Beach, Va./Kellam) doubled and drove in two runs.

JMU plated the game's first run thanks to help from UNCW in the second inning. Roberts reached on a one-out fielding error by the shortstop and came around to score when McInturff reached on a throwing error by the