Offense Pushes Dukes to Series Sweep of Louisiana

Sunday, April 23

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

23-16, 8-8

Louisiana

26-15, 10-8

Louisiana

James Madison

4/23/2023 5:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Nine of the 12 James Madison baseball hits went for extra bases to push the Dukes past Louisiana, 9-4, on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park to secure a sweep against a team that came into the weekend second in the Sun Belt Conference.

The Dukes moved to 23-16 and even their league record to 8-8, while the Ragin' Cajuns dropped to 26-15, 10-8 SBC.

Junior Ryan Murphy started and picked up his fourth win of the season behind four strikeouts across 5.1 innings of work. At the plate, freshman Mike Mancini led the team with a 2-for-5 effort and added a home run and three RBI's.

How It Happened
First Inning
Ben Robichaux got the Cajuns out to an early lead, leading off the first with a homer. It was the first leadoff home run given up by the Dukes at home to start the game since May 5, 2017.

Second Inning
After the first batter was retired, redshirt senior Trevon Dabney tied the game with his fifth homer of the season. The Dukes then took the lead on a Jason Schiavone double after redshirt senior Kyle Novak hit a triple. Sophomore Ryan Dooley capped the scoring with a two-run blast, his second homer in as many days and gave JMU a 4-1 lead.

Third Inning
The lead was extended to five after the Dukes scored twice more in the third. Mancini went yard for the first time in his career after two quick outs, and Dabney would score on a wild pitch after doubling after Mancini.

Sixth Inning
Louisiana got two runs back in the sixth to make it 6-3 after a leadoff homer and an RBI single up the middle.

JMU responded by scoring three runs in the home half. Freshman Wyatt Peifer doubled in Dooley before Mancini drove in Peifer and sophomore Fenwick Trimble, who reached on a walk, to make it 9-3.

Seventh Inning
The Cajuns led off an inning for the third time with a home run to cut the lead to 9-4.

Game Notes

For the series, JMU hit .380 with 21 extra base hits, a .771 slugging percentage and a +18 run differential.
The Dukes hit nine home runs in the series, the most the Dukes have hit in a series since hitting 23 in a four-game set to open up the 2011 season against Bucknell.
JMU has now homered multiple times in four straight games, the longest streak since four in a row in 2013.
The first seven hits of the ball game were extra base hits.

Up Next
The Dukes hit the road for the next eight games, beginning with a 7 p.m. matchup at Virginia Tech on Tuesday, April 25. The game will be streamed on ACC Network Extra.