Dukes Beat Lancers 4-3 in Midweek Clash

Tuesday, February 21

Farmville, Va.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

3-1

Longwood

1-3

James Madison

Longwood

2/21/2017 7:28:00 PM | Baseball

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FARMVILLE, Va. – Early offense and a six-out save from senior Michael Evans secured James Madison baseball a 4-3 win over Longwood at Buddy Bolding Stadium on Tuesday afternoon.

The Dukes, who improved to 3-1 on the season, jumped out to a 4-0 lead after four innings. The Lancers fell to 1-3 on the year.

Junior designated hitter Zach Tondi scored junior shortstop Kyle McPherson on a sacrifice fly in the first inning, followed by a Bradley McKay RBI single in the second. JMU doubled its lead in the fourth inning with a Ky Parrott RBI single and a Mike Sciorra run scored on a passed ball.

Evans inherited two runners and a 4-1 lead with no outs in the eighth inning. He used three strikeouts and a diving grab from Parrott to close the game while allowing just the two inherited runners to score. The save was the 10th of Evans' career, which ties for third-most all-time in JMU history.

Freshman pitcher Michael Bechtold picked up a win in his first collegiate start, scattering four hits across five and one third scoreless innings and walking just four batters. Sophomore pitcher Christian Leckert also threw one and two thirds innings of scoreless and hitless relief.

TOP PERFORMERS
McKay led the Dukes with a 2-for-4 day with a run and an RBI. Parrott, McPherson, and Sciorra all also collected two-hit games.

SERIES HISTORY
JMU beat Longwood for the first time since Feb. 19, 2014 and the first time on the road since April 17, 2013. The Dukes now hold a 16-12 advantage in the all-time series.

QUOTING COACH IKENBERRY
"I was proud of how Michael Bechtold battled through his first start. Our offense did a nice job getting a lead by manufacturing runs when we needed to and we played dynamic defense. It was also awesome to see Michael Evans work out of a jam to earn a six-out save."

UP NEXT
The Dukes head back to South Carolina this weekend for three games in Spartanburg. JMU faces Wofford at 5 p.m. on Friday, UNC-Asheville at noon on Saturday and USC Upstate at 1 p.m. on Sunday.