Pitching Masterpiece by Showalter Leads Dukes to Win Over Cougars

Sunday, April 18

Charleston, S.C.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

6-9, 3-3

College of Charleston

15-15, 7-5

James Madison

Charleston

Pitching Masterpiece by Showalter Leads Dukes to Win Over Cougars

4/18/2021 3:53:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MT. PLEASANT, S.C. – Redshirt junior Justin Showalter took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and didn't allow a runner to reach second base until the ninth inning to lead JMU (6-9, 3-3) to a 7-1 series finale win against the College of Charleston (15-15, 5-5) on Sunday afternoon at Patriots Point.

The righty picked up his first win of the season, going eight and two-thirds innings while only allowing two hits, two walks, and striking out four. At the plate, Kyle Novak led the Dukes going 3-for-5 with two runs scored and an RBI.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Dukes got on the board early, putting two runs up in the first inning after Conor Hartigan took the first pitch he saw over the left field wall for a 1-0 lead. After a Michael Morgan double the next batter, Novak singled up the middle to score Morgan to make it 2-0. JMU added three more runs in the third inning on a Bryce Safferwich two-run single and Novak scoring on a passed ball. They then added runs in the fifth and eighth innings to take a 7-0 lead heading into the ninth.

Showalter kept the Cougars' bats tamed all afternoon, retiring 19 of the first 20 batters he saw with the only batter to reach being a walk in the second inning. The Bridgewater, Va. native hadn't allowed a hit all afternoon until one out in the seventh when Charleston was able to reach on an infield single.

The Cougars attempted a comeback in the ninth inning, after drawing a leadoff walk and scoring on only their second hit of the day to make it 7-1. Lliam Grubbs came in to relieve Showalter afterwards with two outs and got a grounder to short to preserve the 7-1 victory.

GAME NOTES

Five of the six JMU RBI's were with two outs, with the team hitting .462 (6-13) on the day overall with two outs.
This is the third consecutive game the Dukes have hit a home run in.
This was the longest start for a Duke this season and the longest start since Showalter threw a shutout last season.

UP NEXT
The Dukes will travel to Williamsburg, Va. to take on William & Mary on April 24-25, playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game Sunday. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to start at 1 p.m.