Dukes Fall in Series Finale Against Bucknell

Sunday, February 21

Harrisonburg, Va.

3:30 p.m.

James Madison University

2-2

Bucknell

2-2

Bucknell

James Madison

2/21/2016 8:28:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison could not bounce back from an early deficit on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 9-1 decision to Bucknell in the final contest of a four-game, non-conference baseball series at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes, who closed their opening weekend with a 2-2 mark, never found their groove against Bucknell starter Connor Van Hoose, as the sophomore right-hander yielded just three hits and two walks while striking out six across seven innings of work.

JMU threatened in the first, when junior center fielder Ky Parrott and sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson each picked up a single and a stolen base to put runners on second and third, but Van Hoose escaped the frame with a pair of strikeouts.

Sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk, who went 1-3 on the afternoon, had the Dukes' only extra-base hit when he drilled a double to deep left field on the first pitch of the second inning. The Fairfax, Va., native would move to third on a groundout before scoring JMU's lone run on a double steal with junior left fielder Josh Wyatt that cut the lead to 3-1.

After a pair of Bucknell runs extended the lead to 5-1 in the top of the third, the Bison broke the game open with a four-run sixth inning that put things out of reach for JMU.

Center fielder Brett Smith, designated hitter Danny Rafferty and first baseman Spencer Stokes all had two hits to lead the Bucknell offense on the evening. Stokes notched a pair of doubles, while Smith and Rafferty each scored twice and drove in a run.

Van Hoose earned the win on the evening to start his year 1-0, while sophomore lefty Tucker McCoy took the loss for JMU, dropping to 0-1.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"Tonight, we have to tip our cap to Bucknell's starter; he did a really nice job. We had him on the ropes in the first inning, but he got out of the jam and didn't give us very much at all the rest of the way. On our side, we had a lot of young guys see time on the mound this weekend and it was good to have them out there and get some experience under their belts. We were also happy to get Patrick Toohers and Taylor Krugh out on the mound for the first time in more than a year.

PHOTO(S) OF THE GAME

Junior center fielder Ky Parrott left his feet to make this incredible catch in the second inning, ending the frame and leaving Bucknell runners stranded on first and third base.

AROUND THE CAA
UNCW, which was picked to repeat as conference champion, was the only team to survive the opening weekend of the season without a loss, as the Seahawks went 3-0 with wins over Western Carolina, St. John's and Richmond. Northeastern captured a pair of wins over Big 12 foe Oklahoma, while College of Charleston earned two victories over Nebraska.

UP NEXT
Next weekend, the Dukes will hit the road for the first time when they travel to Clemson for a three-game series against the Tigers on Feb. 26-28. The set marks the first time JMU has faced an ACC opponent in a three-game series since the Dukes' last trip to Clemson, which opened the 2006 campaign.