Dukes Fall in Series Opener at Towson

Friday, April 8

Towson, Md.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

13-17, 4-3

Towson

12-18, 3-1

James Madison

Towson

4/8/2016 7:06:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

TOWSON, Md. - Towson scored five runs on a pair of homers and held off a furious James Madison charge to hand the Dukes a 6-4 loss on Friday afternoon in the first game of the teams' three-game Colonial Athletic Association series this weekend at Schuerholz Park.

The loss dropped the Dukes to 13-17 (4-3 CAA) despite JMU's 10 hits and five walks, marking the second time in three games in which it has tallied double-digit hits. Towson improved to 12-18 (3-1 CAA) with the victory.

Junior left fielder Ky Parrott continued his hot run at the plate for the Dukes, going 2-for-3 with a double, an RBI, a stolen base and two walks to lift his batting average to .302 for the season. The effort marked Parrott's fifth multi-hit game of the year and extended his hitting streak to six games.

Senior third baseman Kyle Weston joined Parrott with multiple hits, going 2-for-4 and scoring a run to push his own hit streak to five, a stretch that includes three two-hit performances.

Shortstop Brady Policelli had a near-flawless day at the plate for Towson, going 4-for-4 with a double and the eventual game-winning two-run homer in the seventh inning. Center fielder A.J. Gallo and right fielder Colin Gimblet each added a pair of hits for the Tigers.

JMU jumped ahead early, as Parrott doubled home sophomore designated hitter Logan Quimuyog, who made his first career start, in the top of the third. The Tigers tied things back up at 1-1, however, with a seeing-eye RBI single in the bottom half of the frame.

After sophomore shortstop Tanner Dofflemyer came home to score in the fifth, Towson again responded with in the bottom half of the frame, as Gallo took the first pitch he saw over the right field wall for a three-run homer that put the Tigers back on top, 4-2.

Sophomore right fielder Adam Sisk singled home a run in the sixth to cut the lead to one, but Policelli had the response in the bottom of the seventh, completing his four-hit day with a two-run blast to left that put the Dukes in a 6-3 hole.

JMU put runners in scoring position in each of its final two frames, with sophomore center fielder Mike Sciorra singling home Weston in the eighth, but could not get closer than 6-4 as the Tigers closed things out with Dukes on the corners in the ninth.

Senior left-hander Aaron Hoover (3-3) took the loss for JMU across six complete innings, striking out four and walking just one, with Gallo's fifth-inning homer representing three of his four surrendered runs.

Skyler Morris (2-1) picked up the win for Towson, scattering five hits and striking out five across 5 2/3 innings, while Lee Lawler yielded just one hit across the final two frames to notch his third save of the season.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I was proud of the way we battled late against Towson today. We made a couple mistake pitches and they scored five runs off of them. We'll learn from that and come back tomorrow looking to get a win."

TAKING WHAT THEY GIVE
The Dukes are seeing the ball well lately, drawing multiple walks in 11 straight games, a stretch that has seen them average 5.9 walks per game. JMU has also drawn at least five free passes in three of the last four and seven of the last 10 contests.

Junior left fielder Ky Parrott has led the Dukes in this effort, notching 14 walks in his last 10 contests, including multiple times in three of the last four games.

UP NEXT
Weather permitting, the Dukes and Tigers will play the second game of their three-game weekend series on Saturday, April 8. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m. and live video coverage will be provided by the Towson Sports Network.