Dukes Fall to Monmouth in 11-10 Heartbreaker

Tuesday, March 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

7-10

Monmouth

5-9

Monmouth

James Madison

3/15/2016 8:41:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison scored the final six runs against Monmouth on Tuesday evening, but the Dukes' comeback fell just short as JMU dropped an 11-10 heartbreaker to the Hawks in non-conference action at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes (7-10) scored in seven of nine innings and racked up 15 hits, but Monmouth (5-9) scored eight of its 11 runs on a trio of homers to hand JMU the loss, despite scoring runs in only three innings.

Senior third baseman Chad Carroll, senior designated hitter Kyle Weston and sophomore shortstop Tanner Dofflemyer all racked up three hits on the afternoon, with Carroll adding two RBIs and two runs and Weston scoring three times. Carroll's effort raised his season average to a team-best .446.

First baseman Shaine Hughes, designated hitter Pete Papcun and right fielder Chris Gaetano all homered for Monmouth, with all three accounting for multiple runs. Papcun's two-run shot staked the Hawks a 3-0 lead in the first inning, while Gaetano and Hughes each added three-run blasts in the third and sixth innings, respectively.

After Hughes' homer gave Monmouth an 11-4 lead, the Dukes immediately started battling back, with sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson picking up an RBI single in the bottom half of the sixth. In the seventh, sophomore left fielder Logan Quimuyog notched his first career hit with an RBI single up the middle and Carroll immediately followed with a two-run triple that made it 11-8.

Weston singled on the first pitch of the ninth and Dofflemyer roped the very next offering into left field for an RBI double that cut the deficit to two. The Dukes loaded the bases with two outs and sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk drew a walk to make it a one-run game, but a groundout to second base closed out the contest.

Eight different pitchers saw time on the mound for JMU, highlighted by senior right-hander Ben Garner, who struck out two across the last 1 1/3 innings without allowing a baserunner. Mike Brambilla earned the win for Monmouth to improve to 1-1, while Justin Andrews picked up his second save of the year by virtue of throwing the final three frames.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"We had a whole lot of quality at-bats today. We hit into a few unfortunately-timed double plays, but that's baseball. If you change a few pitches and a few plays either way, maybe it's a different story. I was proud of Logan Quimuyog for coming off the bench and giving us a big spark and I was proud of how everybody battled throughout. We had a lot of positives today and had our chances, we just couldn't quite get a couple hits when we needed to."

UP NEXT
The Dukes remain in Harrisonburg all weekend, as they welcome St. Bonaventure to Eagle Field for a four-game series from Friday-Monday, March 18-20. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m. on Friday and 12 p.m. on Sunday, with Saturday's double-header set to get started at 12 p.m.

The Bonnies are 9-2 entering this weekend after besting Maine in a 9-2 decision on Monday night and are riding a six-game winning streak.