Dukes Fall 8-7 in Extras at William & Mary

Saturday, April 22

Williamsburg, Va.

Noon

James Madison University

18-20, 3-11

William & Mary

21-20, 6-5

James Madison

William & Mary

4/22/2017 6:58:00 PM | Baseball

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WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – Despite a go-ahead, two-run home run in the ninth by junior third baseman Bradley McKay, William & Mary tied the game and later won in walk-off fashion, beating James Madison 8-7 in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon at Plumeri Park.

The Tribe improved to 21-20 overall and 6-5 in Colonial Athletic Association play, while the Dukes fell for the sixth straight outing to drop to 18-20 and 3-11.

Trailing 6-5 in the ninth inning, redshirt junior second baseman Josh Wyatt singled through the left side to put the tying run on base. After sac bunt, positioning Wyatt at second, McKay sent a 1-1 pitch over the left-field wall for his third homer of the year to give the Dukes a 7-6 lead.

In the bottom half, W&M led off with a double, but the Dukes forced the Tribe into back-to-back outs to put them down to their last out. The hosts delivered as Kyle Wrighte hit a RBI single up the middle to tie the game, forcing extra innings. In the bottom of the 10th, the Tribe were able to load the bases, and Ryder Miconi slapped the game-winning run home with a RBI single up the middle.

Junior shortstop Kyle McPherson was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while junior outfielder Adam Sisk hit 2-for-4 with a walk and run scored. McKay was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and two runs, and freshman designated hitter Fox Semones finished 1-for-2 with one RBI and two runs.

Senior Michael Evans (2-2) was hit with the loss after surrendering four runs, eight hits and four walks while striking out three in 4.0 innings of relief. Junior Colton Harlow had a no decision, allowing four runs (three earned) and nine hits to go with four strikeouts in 5.1 innings of work.

The Tribe had five players record multi-hit games, led by Miconi and Charles Ameer, who each had three hits. Ryan Hall created the majority of scoring opportunities for W&M, going 2-for-4 with a home run, a game-high four RBIs and two runs.

William & Mary out-hit JMU 17-11 and the Dukes committed three errors, compared to the Tribe's one.

LEADS TOUGH TO HOLD ON TO
JMU led William & Mary four separate times in Saturday's loss, which included a game-best 4-1 lead in the fifth. The Tribe answered with three runs in the bottom half of the inning and later took a 6-5 lead with two runs in the seventh. After JMU's go-ahead homer in the ninth, W&M tied it once again before winning it in the 10th.

EXTRA INNINGS COME AT A MINIMUM
JMU has not been too accustomed to playing extra-inning games this season, as Saturday's was just the second of 2017. The Dukes won their first extra-inning affair in 12 innings back on April 7 versus College of Charleston before falling to 1-1 in extras with today's defeat. It was the first time since a 5-4 loss to UNCW at the CAA Championship on May 26, 2016, that JMU fell in extra innings.

UP NEXT
JMU looks to salvage a win in the series finale, which takes place Sunday, April 23 at 10 a.m. The game will be streamed live on Tribe Athletics TV.