Dukes Drop 2-0 Battle to William & Mary

Sunday, April 17

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

15-21, 5-7

William & Mary

17-18, 6-5

William & Mary

James Madison

4/17/2016 7:08:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - William & Mary held James Madison to just four hits on Sunday afternoon as the Dukes dropped a hard-fought, 2-0 pitchers' duel in the final game of a three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU, which fell to 15-21 (5-7 CAA) in the loss, got a stellar start from junior right-hander Brandon Withers, but tallied just three singles and a double as the Tribe improved to 17-18 (6-5 CAA) in the victory.

Withers, who took the hard-luck loss to fall to 1-5, was outstanding throughout for the Dukes, striking out nine across 6 2/3 innings of four-hit ball before handing off to the bullpen after a two-out walk in the top of the seventh. Junior Michael Evans and senior Ben Garner closed out the final 2 1/3 frames, combining to strike out a pair.

William & Mary starter Dan Powers fulfilled his end of the duel, scattering three singles across 7 1/3 innings and striking out three to improve to 5-2 on the season. Joseph Gaouette struck out one in a perfect ninth to notch his sixth save of the season.

Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson picked up the Dukes' only extra-base hit of the day, ripping a two-out double off the left-field wall in the eighth inning. Sophomore Adam Sisk and juniors Brett Johnson and Zach Tondi picked up JMU's only other hits on the afternoon.

W&M catcher Hunter Smith was the only player on either team with multiple hits in a 2-for-4 day that saw him drive in the second run of the game in the top of the eighth.

The Tribe notched the eventual game-winner in the fourth, after first baseman Charley Gould was hit by a pitch to open the inning. Gould moved to third on a single and a groundout, eventually coming home on Tim Hoehn's sacrifice fly to right, beating Sisk's throw to the plate by mere inches.

The loss marked the first time the Dukes have been shutout since a 1-0 loss at Northeastern on April 10 of last season.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"Today was a very good college baseball game. I thought we pitched really well throughout, but so did they and they got the timely hits when they needed them."

PLAY OF THE GAME | COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson hammered this double to left field, putting two Dukes in scoring position in the eighth inning. The shot marked JMU's only extra-base hit of the day.

WITHERS' CAREER START
Junior right-hander Brandon Withers set career highs for strikeouts (nine) and total pitches (119) in his stellar start on Sunday afternoon. His 6 2/3 innings marked the second-longest outing of his career, trailing only his eight-inning afternoon in a March 6 win over UMBC earlier this season.

Withers' nine strikeouts also proved notable for the Dukes, as it marked the most by a JMU pitcher in a single outing since Chris Huffman struck out nine across 7 2/3 innings against Old Dominion on April 5, 2013.

SETTING THE TABLE
Junior left fielder Ky Parrott pushed his career-best reached-base streak to 19 games with a five-pitch walk in the bottom of the third inning on Sunday afternoon.

Parrott opened the season with a career-best 16-game streak, which ended after an 0-for-1 pinch-hit appearance against Monmouth on March 15. He then began his current streak in the very next contest, meaning the Herndon, Va. native has reached base in 35 of 36 games this season and has done so in all 35 contests in which he has started.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will hit the road for a four-game road trip this week, starting with a 3 p.m. contest at George Mason on Tuesday, April 19. The Patriots took down JMU earlier this season in Harrisonburg.

The weekend will see the Dukes head south to Charleston, S.C. to face College of Charleston in a three-game CAA series. The Cougars are currently tied for third in the conference after falling to 21-14-1 (5-4 CAA) via a three-game sweep at eighth-place Hofstra this weekend.