JMU Drops 7-5 Decision at Charleston

Saturday, April 23

Charleston, S.C.

2:30 p.m.

James Madison University

16-23, 6-8

College of Charleston

22-16-1, 6-5

James Madison

Col. of Charleston

4/23/2016 7:09:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - College of Charleston used 12 singles and a stellar bullpen to hand James Madison a hard-fought 7-5 loss on Saturday afternoon in the second game of the teams' three-game Colonial Athletic Association series at Patriots Point.

JMU fell to 16-23 (6-8 CAA) in the loss, despite all but two Dukes registering a hit on the afternoon and five players notching multi-hit days. The Cougars improved to 22-16-1 (6-5 CAA) on the year as they levelled the weekend series at 1-1.

Senior designated hitter Tyler Carroll posted his first career three-hit performance for the Dukes, going 3-for-4 while driving in a run and scoring another. Chad Carroll, Brett Johnson, Kyle Weston and Bradley McKay all tacked on two hits each, while sophomore center fielder Mike Sciorra was 1-for-3 with a triple to right-center.

Sciorra's triple was JMU's only extra-base hit of the afternoon, as Charleston starter Bailey Ober kept the Dukes from driving the ball as well as they did on Friday. Ober worked the first 6 2/3 innings, scattering 12 hits and five runs while striking out 10 to improve to 4-2 on the year.

After Charleston took a 2-0 lead in the first inning, the Dukes levelled things in the second when Weston, Sciorra and Carroll went single-triple-single to open the frame.

JMU went ahead on an RBI single from McKay in the fourth, but the Cougars plated five runs across the fifth, sixth and seventh innings to put the Dukes back in a hole. Sophomore catcher Zach Tondi laced a two-out, bases-loaded single into right-center to score two in the seventh and cut the lead to 6-5, but JMU would get no closer, as a pair of Charleston pitchers combined for 2 1/3 scoreless innings down the stretch to close things out.

Sophomore Colton Harlow took the loss for JMU, falling to 2-5 after 5 1/3 innings of work that saw him strike out five and yield four earned runs. Sophomore Tucker McCoy continued his run of good play on the mound, throwing the final two frames and keeping the Cougars scoreless while surrendering just a pair of hits.

Charleston catcher Erven Roper went 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs to pace the Cougars' offense on the day, while three other players picked up two hits each.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I thought Colton Harlow battled really hard for us this afternoon in a really good college baseball game. We needed to execute a little better in the early innings and I think that was the difference in the ballgame today."

TWEET OF THE GAME

Today's gift: 80 degree temps, Charleston skies, and @JMUBaseball ?? pic.twitter.com/H6GK2MWDVX
— Sharon R Hoover (@SharonRHoover) April 23, 2016

MCCOY'S SCORELESS STRETCH
With his pair of scoreless innings on Saturday, sophomore left-hander Tucker McCoy pushed his shutout streak to 7 2/3 innings, stretching across three complete outings. McCoy has not yielded a run since an April 12 outing against VMI. The streak has seen McCoy give up just five hits, walking just two and striking out five.

UP NEXT
The Dukes and Cougars will play the rubber match of their three-game set on Sunday afternoon. First pitch is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Patriots Point and live video coverage will be provided by the Charleston Sports Network.