Dukes Fall in Walk-Off Heartbreaker at CAA Tourney

Thursday, May 26

Mt. Pleasant, S.C.

Noon

James Madison University

24-30

UNCW

38-15

James Madison

UNCW

5/26/2016 4:40:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. - UNCW first baseman Zach Canada used a 10th-inning, walk-off RBI single to cut James Madison's comeback bid short on Thursday afternoon, as JMU dropped a 5-4 decision to the Seahawks on the second day of the 2016 Colonial Athletic Association Baseball Championship at Patriots Point.

The Dukes battled throughout, despite falling to 24-30 with the loss. Trailing 4-2 with two outs in the ninth, JMU fought back from its final strike on consecutive batters to stay alive.

Sophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson bounced an 0-2 pitch to third base that skipped through the third baseman's legs to bring the tying run to the plate. Sophomore catcher Zach Tondi then provided the bulk of the afternoon's drama, working the count full before blasting the seventh pitch of the at-bat over the right-field wall to tie the contest at 4-4.

JMU came 90 feet from going ahead in the top of the 10th, pushing a runner to third with one out, but could not take advantage. The Seahawks capitalized, putting the first two hitters of the frame on base before Canada bounced a two-out single into the hole between third and short to bring the decisive run home.

Junior first baseman Brett Johnson provided the rest of the Dukes' offense on the day, drilling a 1-1 fastball over the left-center wall in the top of the first to stake JMU a 2-0 lead. The two-run shot marked Johnson's seventh of the year, most on the team until Tondi's blast tied him later in the contest.

UNCW starter Ryan Foster, the newly-crowned CAA Co-Pitcher of the Year, kept the Dukes off-balance the rest of the way, though, yielding just five hits and striking out nine across 7 2/3 innings. Seahawk designated hitter Nick Feight, who was named CAA Player of the Year earlier this week, racked up a game-high four hits, including a double and an eighth-inning homer, for UNCW.

Four JMU pitchers combined to limit the high-powered Seahawk offense, holding UNCW to 10 hits and striking out a season-high 14 batters. Junior Brandon Withers turned in another solid start, keeping the Seahawks to five hits and striking out six in his 4 2/3-inning start, while junior Michael Evans saw quality action for the second day in a row, striking out five across 2 1/3 innings of relief.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"We had our chances to take this one today, but one or two mistakes at unfortunate times cost us. These guys battled all the way through against a great UNCW team and one of the best pitchers we've seen all year, though. Zach Tondi kept us alive with that huge homer and Brandon Withers and Michael Evans took us deep into the ballgame to give us a shot to win."

POWER SURGE
With their pair of home runs on Thursday, the Dukes have now hit at least one homer in five of their last seven contests. Thursday also marked the seventh time this year that JMU has gone yard multiple times in one contest.

UP NEXT
The Dukes' next contest is dependent upon the afternoon's game between No. 2 William & Mary and No. 6 College of Charleston. If CofC upsets the Tribe, the Dukes will return to the field for this evening's final contest for a rematch against No. 5 Northeastern. However, if W&M holds seed and wins, JMU will be idle until 3:30 p.m. on Friday, May 27.