Dukes Drop Series Opener at Charleston

Friday, April 16

Charleston, S.C.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

College of Charleston

4/16/2021 10:16:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Box Score

CHARLESTON, S.C. - James Madison couldn't work out of an early hole on Friday evening, as College of Charleston used 10 runs in the first three innings to hand the Dukes a 14-7 loss in Colonial Athletic Association baseball action at Patriots Point.

The Dukes (5-8, 2-2 CAA) tallied eight hits and a pair of homers on the evening, but weren't able to dig out of deficits of 12-0 and 14-2 as the Cougars (14-14, 6-4 CAA) racked up 15 hits to take the opening game of the schools' weekend series.

Junior Conor Hartigan and freshman Chase DeLauter each homered for the Dukes on their way to a pair of hits and three RBIs to lead the JMU offense on the evening, while senior Ari Sechopoulos went 3-for-4 with six RBIs to pace Charleston.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Charleston did its damage early, scoring five runs in the first with the help of a one-out grand slam, then adding five more across the next two frames. In all, the Cougars used just nine hits across that stretch, taking advantage as three of their five walks scored and they hit a homer in each inning.

The Cougars added two more runs in the fifth inning to make it 12-0 before the Dukes got on the board with a long ball of their own, as junior Conor Hartigan blasted a 1-1 pitch over the left field wall to drive in freshman Chase DeLauter.

After Charleston opened the bottom of the sixth with four straight base hits to push the lead to 14-2, DeLauter picked up his third homer of the spring with a two-out, three-run blast that cut things to 14-5. The Dukes added two more in the ninth on RBI grounders from Hartigan and sophomore Kyle Novak before Charleston closed things out.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will be back in action in Charleston on Saturday afternoon, with first pitch of the second game of the weekend series scheduled for 2 p.m.