Late Rally Spearheads Dukes to Win

Wednesday, March 15

Lexington, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

11-7

VMI

10-8

James Madison

VMI

3/15/2023 8:23:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

LEXINGTON, Va. – After VMI tied the game in the seventh inning, James Madison scored six runs across the eighth and ninth innings to take a 9-3 victory in non-conference baseball at Gray-Minor Stadium on Wednesday evening.

The Dukes move to 11-7 while the Keydets fall to 10-8. The win is the 11^th for JMU out of the past 12 meetings between the two teams and the first time the Dukes have won three straight on the road against VMI since earning a third straight road victory in 1995.

Redshirt junior CJ Czerwinski tied career highs behind six scoreless innings and six strikeouts while only allowing two hits and two walks. Classmate Matt Kleinfelter (2-0) earned the win in a third of an inning of work. Redshirt junior Mason Dunaway and sophomore Fenwick Trimble both went 3-for-5 at the plate, each recording a double, a run scored and an RBI.

How It Happened
Second Inning
The Dukes struck first when graduate Jaylon Lee took the first pitch he saw to left field on a single. He then moved two bases to third on a wide pickoff attempt before scoring to make it 1-0 on a fielding error that would've ended the inning had it been fielded cleanly.

Third Inning
A third error by the Keydets aided the Dukes to add a second run, as graduate Jack Cone singled and moved to second on an errant throw in from the right fielder. Back-to-back singles from Dunaway and Trimble allowed Cone to cross the plate, making it 2-0.

Fifth Inning
Sophomore Jason Schiavone drew a walk to begin the fifth and then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt. The next at bat, Dunaway would double off the wall in left field and trade places with Schiavone to give JMU a 3-0 lead.

Seventh Inning
VMI tied the game in the seventh with a trio of runs, loading the bases and using a groundout to score the first run. The game was then tied on a Justin Starke single that scored two and made it a 3-3 ball game.

Eighth Inning
Redshirt senior Trevon Dabney followed classmate Kyle Novak's leadoff hit by pitch with his third long ball of the season to give JMU back the lead at 5-3.

Ninth Inning
After two quick outs, three consecutive singles by Dunaway, Trimble and Novak pushed a run across to make the score 6-3 for JMU. After Dabney drew a walk to load the bases, redshirt junior Jacob Steinberg cleared the bases with a double into the gap for a 9-3 lead.

Game Notes

CJ Czerwinski has now gone back-to-back outings posting six innings with six strikeouts.
The Dukes sweep the home-and-home series with VMI for 2023.
The three RBI's recorded by Jacob Steinberg tie a career high and is his third three-RBI game of the season.

Up Next
The Dukes return back home on March 17-19 to open up Sun Belt Conference play with a three-game set against Coastal Carolina. The opener on Friday is slated for 4 p.m. and will be streamed on ESPN+.