Baseball Drops 7-3 Decision to VMI

Wednesday, March 11

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

8-5

VMI

4-3

VMI

James Madison

3/11/2015 7:50:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - The James Madison baseball team fell behind early and never recovered on Wednesday afternoon as the Dukes dropped a 7-3 decision to VMI at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

Senior Kevin Husum broke out in a 2-for-4 performance at the plate, but the Dukes only managed five hits as a team as they fell to 8-5 on the 2015 season. The Keydets held JMU without a baserunner in four separate innings as they moved to 4-3.

Junior right-hander Mark Gunst started on the mound for JMU, throwing three innings and allowing just three hits and one run before giving way to a group of six relievers.

Aside from Husum, senior Chad Carroll, junior Kyle Weston and sophomore Josh Wyatt collected the only hits for the Dukes, with Carroll's leadoff double in the first inning representing the only extra-base hit of the day.

Carroll's double led to the Dukes' first run of the day, as the senior immediately stole third and was driven home on a bouncing groundout to first base from sophomore Ky Parrott.

VMI pulled even in the top of the third inning with a solo home run, then used just two hits to tack on four more runs in the fifth to put JMU in a 5-1 hole that it could not climb out of.

The Dukes cut the deficit to three in the bottom of the fifth after Weston and Husum singled to start the inning. Junior Bobby San Martin brought Weston home from third with a push bunt, but JMU could not pull any closer and VMI scored in the next half-inning to restore a four-run, 6-2 lead.

After the Keydets made it 7-2 on a solo homer to lead off the top of the ninth, JMU mounted the beginnings of a rally with the help of a pair of VMI errors in the bottom half of the frame. After Wyatt singled and Parrott reached on a mishandled double play relay, freshman second baseman Kyle McPherson reached when another double play attempt was thrown into right field, allowing Wyatt to score.

JMU would get no closer than 7-3, as VMI got a flyout and a strikeout to wrap things up. Keydet starter Jared Silva picked up the win, moving to 1-0 after allowing just two runs through the first five innings, while redshirt sophomore Trey Jones took the loss in relief for JMU to fall to 0-1.

The Dukes will be back in action this weekend when they head to Richmond, Va. to play three games in the PK5 Classic. JMU will face Minnesota at 2 p.m. on Friday and host VCU at 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, before closing out the weekend with a 10 a.m. bout with Monmouth on Sunday morning.