Dukes Roll To 11-7 Senior Day Win Over First-Place UNCW

Sunday, May 15

Harrisonburg, Va.

2 p.m.

James Madison University

20-28, 10-11

UNCW

35-13, 14-5

UNCW

James Madison

5/15/2016 7:52:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison continued its push towards the Colonial Athletic Association Tournament on Sunday afternoon, picking up an 11-7 victory over first-place UNCW on Senior Day at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes, who improved to 20-28 (10-11 CAA) with the win, did not trail from the second inning on, tallying 10 hits and taking advantage of nine walks and five UNCW errors as they moved into a tie for fifth place in the league with one weekend remaining in the regular season. The Seahawks dropped to 35-13 (14-5 CAA) with the loss.

Sophomore catcher Zach Tondi went 3-for-5 on the afternoon, his third three-hit performance of the season, while driving in a game-high three runs and scoring another. Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson matched a career high by scoring four runs for JMU on a 2-for-4 day that saw him hit his fifth homer of the season.

On the mound, senior Ben Garner was stellar for the second time in as many contests, surrendering just one run across the final 3 2/3 innings while striking out five, including all three hitters in the top of the ninth. Garner, who tallied his eighth save of the year in Saturday night's win, picked up his first win on Sunday to improve to 1-2.

Junior first baseman Brett Johnson scored once and drove in a run in a 2-for-5 performance that lifted his season batting average to .331, second-highest on the team, while senior Kyle Weston delivered his second multi-hit game of the week, going 2-for-4 with an RBI in his final game at Eagle Field. Junior left fielder Ky Parrott also continued to find himself on the basepaths, drawing four walks in five plate appearances to give him 53 for the season and raise his on-base percentage to a staggering .502.

After UNCW jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the first, the Dukes plated five runs across the second and third innings to take a 5-1 advantage.

The third frame saw JMU score four runs after the first two hitters each grounded out. Parrott started the rally with a walk and senior shortstop Chad Carroll followed with an RBI single after Parrott swiped second. Johnson then laced a double off the wall in right-center to bring Carroll home and McPherson capped the blitz by launching an 0-1 fastball over the wall in left-center.

UNCW chipped away at the lead, eventually tying things at 6-6 with three runs in the top of the sixth, but JMU erupted for five runs in the bottom half of the frame, taking advantage of three Seahawk errors and five walks to put the game out of reach.

Austin Magestro, the third of seven UNCW pitchers on the afternoon, was saddled with the loss after yielding five unearned runs, assisted by two errors, in one complete inning of work. Three Seahawks notched a pair of hits on the day, led by second baseman Brian Mims, who also launched a solo shot to left-center in the top of the sixth.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I'm incredibly proud of the way these guys battled today and all weekend. We got big hits from the middle of our lineup again and Ben Garner was outstanding out of the bullpen for the second day in a row for us. I'm proud of the way this team fought for a big series win and we're going to build on this as we head to Hofstra next weekend to try and make the conference tournament."

PLAY OF THE GAME | COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

Third baseman Bradley McKay turned this gem of a double play in the top of the fifth inning, saving multiple runs with a backhanded stab of a rocket down the line.

AROUND THE CAA
In addition to JMU's win, Delaware picked up a 6-1 win at Towson and College of Charleston battled back for a 3-2, 12-inning win over Northeastern. The results put the Dukes in a tie for fifth place with Charleston at 10-11 in conference play. Both teams are half a game behind fourth-place Northeastern, which is 10-10 due to a game vs. UNCW being cancelled, and one game ahead of Delaware and Towson, which are tied for seventh at 9-12. The league's top six teams will qualify for the CAA Tournament in Charleston, S.C. from May 25-28.

Next weekend, the final one of the regular season, presents multiple three-game sets that will affect the standings. In addition to the Dukes traveling to ninth-place Hofstra, which has been eliminated from contention for the tournament, Towson travels to Northeastern, UNCW heads to Delaware and Charleston welcomes second-place William & Mary.

SENIOR DAY
Prior to the contest, the Dukes recognized their 10 seniors for the 2016 campaign: Chad Carroll, Tyler Carroll, Ben Garner, Mark Gunst, Chris Hanson, Aaron Hoover, Taylor Krugh, Bobby San Martin, Patrick Toohers and Kyle Weston.

PHOTO OF THE GAME | COMPLETE PHOTO GALLERY

Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson celebrates scoring on a single from junior catcher Zach Tondi in the sixth inning. McPherson, Ky Parrott and Chad Carroll all came in to score to put the Dukes up, 10-6.

KEEP ON WALKING
Junior left fielder Ky Parrott continued his incredible season at the plate for the Dukes on Sunday, walking four times in five plate appearances to bring his season total to 53. That mark is already the third-highest single-season mark in program history, trailing just Lorenzo Bundy's 55 in 1981 and Kellen Kulbacki's school-record 56 during the 2007 campaign. Kulbacki, who also hit .398 that season and was named a First Team All-American, drew eight intentional passes in his record-setting year, while Parrott has been issued just one intentional walk in 2016. With four regular season contests left, Parrott should exit this past weekend among the top five players nationwide in walks.

UP NEXT
The Dukes hit the road this week for the final four games of their regular season, beginning with a 6 p.m. contest at UMBC on Tuesday, May 17. JMU took two of three from the Retrievers earlier this season, when the two teams met in Harrisonburg. UMBC enters this week having won six straight to improve to 25-20 (11-9 America East) on the season.

On the weekend, JMU will head to Hempstead, N.Y., for a crucial three-game set to close out league play. The Pride, who are 15-33 (5-15 CAA) and eliminated from contention for the CAA Tournament, have lost nine of their last 11 and face Monmouth on Tuesday evening.