Dukes Walk Off With 7-6 Win Over Northeastern in 19-Inning Marathon

Friday, March 25

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

10-12, 1-0

Northeastern

9-10, 0-1

Northeastern

James Madison

Dukes Walk Off With 7-6 Win Over Northeastern in 19-Inning Marathon

3/25/2016 11:34:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson laced a first-pitch double off the right-center field fence to bring senior third baseman Chad Carroll around to score and give James Madison a 7-6 win over Northeastern on Friday night in a 19-inning marathon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

The contest, which marked both teams' 2016 Colonial Athletic Association opener, marked the longest game in the 47-season history of JMU baseball, snapping the previous record of 15 innings, set against Coastal Carolina on Feb. 12, 2000. The Dukes improved to 10-12 (1-0 CAA) in the win, while Northeastern dropped to 9-10 (0-1 CAA).

The two teams had traded scoreless innings in every frame from the ninth to the 18th before Carroll and junior left fielder Ky Parrott opened the 19th with consecutive walks. After a strikeout, McPherson drilled the first pitch he saw to the opposite field, hitting the wall on the fly and bringing Carroll in to score easily.

Senior right-hander Ben Garner was brilliant in relief for the Dukes, entering the game to start the ninth inning and holding Northeastern scoreless for the next eight frames. The Burke, Va., native needed just 99 pitches to rack up seven strikeouts while yielding just four hits and a walk.

Parrott and junior first baseman Brett Johnson provided a jolt of power in the sixth inning after the Dukes had fallen behind, 4-1. The duo launched back-to-back one-out home runs, with Parrott blasting a two-run shot to right and Johnson following on the next pitch to right-center, to erase the deficit and level things at 4-4. It marked the first time the Dukes had picked up back-to-back homers since David Herbek and Matt Tenaglia vs. Georgia State on April 10, 2011.

In the eighth, after Northeastern had gone up 6-4 on a two-run homer to left, JMU rallied for a pair of crucial runs with two outs to extend the contest. Senior designated hitter Kyle Weston drove in Parrott with a first-pitch single to right before senior pinch runner Tyler Carroll took advantage of a wild pitch to scoot home from third and knot things at 6-6.

Garner was stellar throughout his relief appearance, allowing just four runners to reach scoring position across his eight frames, before giving way to freshman Christian Leckert to start the 17th. Leckert yielded just one hit across the final three innings, striking out two to pick up the win and improve to 2-0 on the year.

Parrott would finish with his first career four-hit night, going 4-for-8 with two RBIs and three runs while finishing a triple short of the cycle. Junior catcher Zach Tondi and McPherson added a pair of hits each, with McPherson's sixth double of the season putting the exclamation point on the game.

Center fielder Charlie McConnell and catcher Josh Treff each had three hits to pace the Northeastern offense on the day. Aaron Civale, the reigning CAA Pitcher of the Week, was tagged for four runs on eight hits across his seven-inning start, despite striking out 10 batters, while Nate Borges took the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I could not be prouder of the way we competed tonight. To come back and tie it in the bottom of the eighth was impressive, but it was even more impressive to watch Ben Garner throw those innings in relief and then have Christian Leckert come in and do a great job. Both teams had chances to win this game multiple times, but we got a big swing from Kyle McPherson in the 19th. This was an outstanding team win and it was huge for us to get it in our first conference game of the year."

PLAY OF THE GAME - COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

Sophomore Kyle McPherson laced this double off the right field wall to give the Dukes the win in the bottom of the 19th inning.

STILL STREAKING
Senior Chad Carroll drilled an 0-2 fastball into center field in the sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to a career-long 18 games. The JMU record for hitting streaks stands at 34 games, a mark that Mark Brockell set during the 1988 campaign and Matt Townsend matched in 2009. Carroll is three games away from cracking the top 10, with three players tied in ninth with 21-game streaks.

TWEET OF THE GAME

19 innings not enough baseball for you tonight? Don't worry! @JMUBaseball back in action tomorrow at 2pm. pic.twitter.com/mus7ZXL5AB
— JMU Ticket Office (@JMUTickets) March 26, 2016

HIT THE CAA GROUND RUNNING
With the Dukes triumphing in their CAA opener on Friday, JMU has now started its league schedule 1-0 in seven of the last nine seasons. The Dukes won four straight CAA debuts from 2008-11, adding wins in 2013 and 2014, while starting 0-1 in both 2012 and last season.

PHOTO OF THE GAME - COMPLETE PHOTO GALLERY
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Sophomore Kyle McPherson celebrates his walk-off double with junior Ky Parrott and sophomore Adam Sisk before being joined by the remainder of the team.

UP NEXT
The Dukes and Huskies will meet at Eagle Field again on Saturday, March 26, when they kick off the second game of their three-game series at 2 p.m., before closing out the series with a noon contest on Sunday, March 27.

MadiZone HD SportsNet presented by the JMU Alumni Association will have live audio coverage of both contests.