Dukes Triumph in Pitchers' Duel at George Washington

Tuesday, March 1

Arlington, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

3-5

George Washington

3-5

James Madison

George Washington

3/1/2016 8:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

ARLINGTON, Va. - James Madison surrendered just five hits across the final six innings on Tuesday evening, as the Dukes earned a 2-1 win over George Washington in a non-conference pitcher's duel at Tucker Field.

JMU used four pitchers to improve to 3-5 on the season, keeping the Colonials off the board completely after they took an early 1-0 lead in the second inning. The Dukes also racked up a season-high 11 hits on the afternoon to drop George Washington to 3-5.

The Dukes tied things up in the seventh on a bases-loaded sacrifice fly from junior catcher Bobby San Martin after junior left fielder Ky Parrott opened the frame with his first triple of the year. Parrott then notched the game-winning RBI in the eighth, dropping a double into left field against the shift to plate junior first baseman Kyle Weston from first.

Sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk notched a career-high three hits on the afternoon, including a double and a stolen base, while Parrott and sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson each picked up a pair of hits.

Freshman Jon Fisher worked four complete innings in his first career start, allowing just the one run and scattering five hits, before giving way to fellow freshman Christian Bourne, who threw 1.1 scoreless innings.

Junior Michael Evans picked up the win with 2.1 innings of two-hit ball, while senior Ben Garner picked up the four-out save, his first of the season, after escaping a first-and-second jam in the eighth and working a scoreless ninth.

GW staked itself the early lead when it followed a one-out double with a groundout and an RBI single, but the quartet of JMU pitchers was scarcely threatened the rest of the way, as the Dukes allowed just one runner to reach third base and did not yield an extra-base hit across the final seven frames.

Junior left-hander Shane Sweeney started for GW, working five shutout innings and yielding just five hits and a walk sophomore Tyler Swiggart surrendered the eventual game-winner in the eighth to fall to 0-1 on the year. Designated hitter Mark Osis and shortstop Kevin Mahala each tallied two hits for the Colonials.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I was really excited about how we grinded out that win today. We made a lot of mistakes early in the game and our guys bounced back. It was a really good road win to pick up for us."

TURNING POINT
In the bottom of the sixth, George Washington put runners on first and second with a pair of one-out singles before junior lefty Michael Evans came on in relief. On the third pitch of the at-bat, sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk sprinted in to snag a tailing shot to right field before throwing to first to double off the runner and end the threat.

In the ensuing frame, junior left fielder Ky Parrott opened the inning with a triple to right-center, capping a seven-pitch at-bat and putting the game-tying run just 90 feet from home plate.

SISK'S BIG NIGHT
Sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk tallied three hits for the Dukes on Tuesday evening, marking a career best for the Fairfax, Va. native. Sisk now has nine hits this season, already surpassing his total of seven from his freshman campaign, and has hit safely in seven of JMU's first eight contests to raise his batting average to .300.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home this weekend for a three-game set against UMBC on Friday-Sunday, March 4-6. The Retrievers are 1-7 in 2016 after dropping a 1-0 decision at Georgetown on Tuesday evening. First pitch is schedule for 3 p.m. on Friday, 2 p.m. on Saturday and 1 p.m. for Sunday's series finale.