Dukes Drop Season Opener to UNC

Friday, February 19

Chapel Hill, N.C.

3 p.m.

James Madison University

0-1

North Carolina

1-0

James Madison

North Carolina

2/19/2021 6:53:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The James Madison baseball team (0-1) dropped their 2021 season opener to North Carolina, 8-1, on Friday evening at Boshamer Stadium.

Redshirt freshman Hunter Entsminger started on the mound for the Dukes, going an inning. Redshirt sophomore Kyle Novak and classmate Nick Zona led the Dukes offensively with a hit apiece. Novak scored the lone run for JMU.

HOW IT HAPPENED
North Carolina (1-0) got out to the early lead, putting up two runs in the first inning. The Tar Heels then added to their lead, putting up runs in the third, fourth, and fifth innings to take an 8-0 lead after five. That's all the Tar Heels would muster though for the rest of the game, as Donovan Burke and Carmine Poppiti combined to toss three and two-thirds innings of shutout ball with six strikeouts.

The Dukes began to find some life in the last third of the game, as Novak led things off in the seventh with a single, ending the Tar Heels' no-hitter. JMU put a runner on in the eight with a Zona single, but wasn't able to bring him home. The Dukes wouldn't go down without a fight though, as Carson Bell came in to pinch hit and knocked in Novak on an RBI groundout in the ninth to make it an 8-1 ball game. That would be all JMU would get, as the game would end with that score.

GAME FACTS

Burke set career-highs in innings pitched (one and two thirds) and strikeouts (four).
Liam McDonnell tossed five strikeouts in three innings of work.
Novak has gotten a hit in all three season openers of his collegiate career.

UP NEXT
The Dukes look to bounce back in game two of the series tomorrow, February 20. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m at Boshamer Stadium.