Dukes Move on to Double Elimination Portion of Sun Belt Tournament

Tuesday, May 23

Montgomery, Ala.

4 p.m. ET (3 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

31-23

Old Dominion

32-23

Old Dominion

James Madison

Dukes Move on to Double Elimination Portion of Sun Belt Tournament

5/23/2023 7:30:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A two-run double from redshirt senior Kyle Novak provided all the scoring James Madison needed to push by Old Dominion, 2-1, in the first round of the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University on Tuesday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium.

The Dukes improved to 31-23 and have won a conference tournament game for the first time since 2016. The Monarchs' closed out their season at 32-23.

With today's Sun Belt tournament victory, JMU wrapped up the inaugural TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge by defeating ODU, 16.5-7.5.

Redshirt freshman T.R. Williams earned his second win of the season behind a career-high 4.1 hitless innings with four strikeouts. Junior Joe Vogatsky picked up save number five of the season after recording the final two outs. At the plate, graduate Jack Cone led the way with a 2-for-3 effort with a walk and a double.

How It Happened
Third Inning
Old Dominion struck first on the team's 100^th home run of the season, as Kyle Edwards hit a solo shot with one down.

Fourth Inning
After redshirt junior Matt Kleinfelter came in to get the final out of the inning and strand the bases loaded in the top of the fourth, the Dukes took the lead in the home half. Sophomore Fenwick Trimble led off the inning with a single, extending his hit streak to 10 games. After moving over on a sacrifice bunt, redshirt senior Trevon Dabney singled to put runners on the corners before Novak delivered a two-run double for a 2-1 lead.

Game Notes

Coupled with Fenwick Trimble's 22 doubles this season, Jack Cone's 20^th double gave JMU its first pair of teammates with 20 doubles since 2011 and only the third occurrence of the feat in program history. Cone is the 10^th Duke to hit 20 doubles in a season and now has the 12^th 20-double season in program history.
Matt Kleinfelter made his 29^th appearance on the mound this season, tying the single-season program record with Mike Venafro in 1995. There has never been a 30-appearance season.
The fifth save of the season for Joe Vogatsky gives him the most saves by a Duke since Nick Robertson earned eight in 2019.

Up Next
The Dukes advance into the double elimination portion of the tournament and will face two-seeded Southern Miss, ranked 16^th in the country, on Wednesday, May 24 at 1:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. CT at Riverwalk Stadium.