Dukes Drop Pair of Contests in Doubleheader at Gardner-Webb

Saturday, March 12

Boiling Springs, N.C.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

7-8

Gardner-Webb

16-1

James Madison

Gardner-Webb

Dukes Drop Pair of Contests in Doubleheader at Gardner-Webb

3/12/2016 9:48:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

BOILING SPRINGS, N.C. - Senior shortstop Chad Carroll notched his 11th and 12th multi-hit games of the season, but James Madison dropped a pair of one-run games at Gardner-Webb, 7-6 and 5-4, in a non-conference doubleheader at John H. Moss Stadium on Saturday.

The Dukes, who opened the scoring in both games, fell to 7-9 after the doubleheader, which came about after the teams agreed to move Sunday's game up a day due to expected inclement weather. Gardner-Webb is 17-1 on the season.

Carroll improved his average on the season to a team-best .435 by going 5-for-10 across the two games, opening the afternoon with a 2-for-5 performance that included a run, an RBI and a stolen base before going 3-for-5 with another stolen base in the nightcap.

The first game of the day saw a pair of homers from the Dukes, marking the fourth time this year that JMU has gone yard multiple times in a game. Sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk opened the scoring in the first game with his third homer of the year, a mark that is tied for the team lead, and junior catcher Zach Tondi followed just two batters later with his first home run as a Duke.

Sophomore left-hander Colton Harlow took the loss in the first game, despite striking out six across five complete innings of work, while junior righty Brandon Withers fell to 1-2 after being saddled with the loss in the second contest, though he yielded just a pair of earned runs in 4 1/3 innings.

The bullpen shined for the Dukes, as freshmen Christian Bourne and Matt Marsili didn't surrender an earned run over the final three innings in the opener and junior Michael Evans struck out four and did not allow an earned run across 3 2/3 innings in his team-high eighth appearance of the year.

Patrick Graham went 4-for-8 across the two games to pace the Gardner-Webb offense, while starters Jeremy Walker (4-0) and Bradley Hallman (2-0) picked up the wins on the mound.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I thought our team played really well today. If we would've played some better defense, we could've gotten a better outcome. This weekend was a good test for us and better prepares us for CAA play on the road."

STILL STREAKING
Junior left fielder Ky Parrott and senior shortstop Chad Carroll each extended their hitting streaks by two on the afternoon, with Parrott improving his career-long streak to 16 contests and Carroll tallying a hit in his 12th straight game. Carroll's career long also sits at 16 games, set during his sophomore campaign.

UP NEXT
The Dukes return home for five games this week, beginning with a 3 p.m. bout against Monmouth on Tuesday, March 15. The Hawks are 4-8 this season after a 4-1 win at George Washington this afternoon. Monmouth will face George Washington on Sunday at noon to close out a three-game set.

Next weekend, JMU will welcome St. Bonaventure to Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium for a four-game series, including a doubleheader on Saturday afternoon.