Weston, Dukes Walk Off In CAA Tourney Win Over Northeastern

Wednesday, May 25

Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Noon

James Madison University

24-29

Northeastern

29-26

Northeastern

James Madison

Weston, Dukes Walk Off In CAA Tourney Win Over Northeastern

5/25/2016 4:20:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - Senior designated hitter Kyle Weston bounced a first-pitch single into left field in the bottom of the ninth to drive in the winning run and give fourth-seeded James Madison a 3-2 walk-off win over fifth-seeded Northeastern on the first day of the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Championship at Patriots Point.

The Dukes, who improved to 24-29 with the victory, battled back from a 2-0 deficit, tying the contest in the seventh with a pair of runs before Weston plated sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson in the ninth to drop the Huskies to 29-26.

In the ninth, junior first baseman Brett Johnson opened the frame with a first-pitch single and McPherson followed with a five-pitch walk before a bunt led to Johnson being forced out at third base.

With runners on first and second and one out, Weston pulled the first pitch he saw through the hole and into left field to bring McPherson around from second and seal the Dukes' first CAA Tournament victory since 2013.

The Huskies out-hit JMU on the afternoon, racking up 11 hits while the Dukes tallied just six, all singles. Sophomore catcher Zach Tondi picked up JMU's other RBI on the afternoon, driving in McPherson with an RBI single in the seventh to tie things at 2-2.

Senior left-hander Aaron Hoover turned in his second quality start in a row for the Dukes, yielding just a pair of runs across 6 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking none to keep JMU within striking distance. Freshman Christian Leckert entered with two outs in the seventh and runners on second and third, inducing a foulout to get the Dukes out of a crucial jam.

After entering to start the eighth, junior left-hander Michael Evans pushed his scoreless streak to nine consecutive innings and improved to 5-1 on the year, giving up just one hit across a pair of shutout frames. Evans has not surrendered an earned run since an April 29 contest against Elon, a stretch that covers 14 innings.

Northeastern starter Dustin Hunt kept the Dukes off balance all day, surrendering just four hits and one earned run across his seven frames while taking a no-hitter into the sixth. Right-hander Mike Fitzgerald, who was named Second Team All-CAA as a reliever, fell to 3-4 after entering in the ninth.

Four different Huskies tallied two hits on the afternoon, led by catcher Josh Treff, who added a fourth-inning double, the only extra-base hit for either team.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I'm so proud of the way these guys battled today. After going down early, they fought their way back into it. Zach Tondi had a huge at-bat for us to tie things up and then Kyle Weston gave us the big hit we needed in the ninth. Their starter did a great job against us, but Aaron Hoover battled for us all day and then Christian Leckert and Michael Evans came in to shut the door. This was a great win over a great team."

PLAY OF THE GAME | COMPLETE HIGHLIGHTS

Senior designated hitter Kyle Weston pulled this walk-off single through the left side to give the Dukes a 3-2 win in the opening contest of the 2016 CAA Baseball Championship.

TAKING ADVANTAGE
The Dukes took advantage of their opportunities on Wednesday, leaving just three runners on base on the afternoon, their second-lowest total of the season. Senior lefty Aaron Hoover did his best work for JMU with runners on, stranding nine Northeastern runners on the basepaths in the victory.

QUALITY STARTING PITCHING
Senior Aaron Hoover turned in his second quality start (6.2 IP, 2 ER) in as many opportunities for the Dukes on Wednesday afternoon. Including starts at Hofstra from junior Brandon Withers and sophomore Colton Harlow, JMU has gotten four consecutive quality starts from its arms for the first time this season.

TWEET OF THE GAME

Congrats @kjweston13! Senior coming through in the clutch! #CAAbaseball tourney https://t.co/Jxd3lQ7yMq
— Michael Martin (@mikenextlevel) May 25, 2016

UP NEXT
With their win, the Dukes advance to a second-round matchup against top-seeded UNCW at noon on Thursday, May 26. JMU took two of three from the Seahawks earlier this season when the two teams met in Harrisonburg from May 13-15.

Live video coverage for Thursday's contest will be provided by CAASports.com.