Dukes Come Up Short in Finale with Tar Heels

Sunday, February 21

Chapel Hill, N.C.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

0-3

North Carolina

3-0

James Madison

North Carolina

Photo by: JMU

2/21/2021 9:06:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The James Madison baseball team kept it tight with North Carolina the entire came, but ultimately feel just short of overcoming them in the series finale, dropping the game, 3-2, Sunday afternoon at Boshamer Stadium.

Freshman Joe Vogatsky made his first collegiate start for the Dukes, going three innings and collecting two strike outs while giving up only one run. Conor Hartigan led the Dukes on offense, going 2-for-3 with a run.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Dukes broke the ice in the first inning, with Chase DeLauter gettings started with a leadoff walk and being followed by a double into left field from Hartigan. Novak drove in the first run the next at bat with a grounder to first that scored DeLauter. North Carolina would even the game up in the second with a leadoff homer, but the Dukes wasted little time regaining the lead.

Hartigan and Novak connected on back-to-back one-out singles in the top of the third to put runners on the corner. Redshirt junior Michael Morgan would then bring Hartigan home on a fielder's choice at second base to make it a 2-1 advantage for JMU.

UNC retook the lead in the bottom of the fifth with a leadoff walk that would come home on a triple and then a wild pitch that made the game 3-2 in favor of the Tar Heels. JMU came close to tying the game up in the seventh, when Mason Dunaway drew a one-out walk. After a groundout moved him to second, the bases became loaded for the Dukes with back-to-back walks and cleanup hitter Kyle Novak up to bat. The threat was neutralized with a strikeout however, and then not much would happen from either side for the rest of the game with it ending in a 3-2 winning score for UNC.

GAME NOTES

Carson Bell finished the weekend hitting 3-for-7 with a run and three RBI's.
Lliam Grubbs struck out the side in the eighth, coming one shy of his career high.
Continuing from yesterday's game, JMU leadoff hitters reached base in five consecutive innings.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will have two weeks off before returning to the field. They will play their home opener on March 5 that will open up a series with Bowling Green. First pitch is scheduled for 3 p.m.