Dukes Fall Against No. 16 Southern Miss in Sun Belt Tournament

Wednesday, May 24

Montgomery, Ala.

1:30 p.m. ET (12:30 p.m. CT)

James Madison University

31-24

Southern Miss

38-16

James Madison

Southern Miss

Dukes Fall Against No. 16 Southern Miss in Sun Belt Tournament

5/24/2023 5:22:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

MONTGOMERY, Ala. – After a quiet first three innings, James Madison fell to No. 16 Southern Miss, 7-1, in its first game in the double elimination portion of the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University on Wednesday afternoon at Riverwalk Stadium.

The seventh-seeded Dukes dropped to 31-24, while the second-seeded Golden Eagles improved to 38-16 and advanced to face third-seeded Troy.

Junior Ryan Murphy started for JMU and went 3.2 innings with three strikeouts. Redshirt junior Mason Dunaway led the way at the plate by going 2-for-4 with a double and a run scored.

Sun Belt Pitcher of the Year Tanner Hall tossed his second complete game to earn his 12^th win of the season for USM.

How It Happened
Fourth Inning
After three scoreless innings from both teams, each team was able to get on the board in the fourth. The Dukes took the first lead after Dunaway led off with a single and moved to third after a passed ball and then throwing error that allowed sophomore Fenwick Trimble to get on. Freshman Mike Mancini then executed a safety squeeze to bring home Dunaway for a 1-0 lead.

Southern Miss responded with a two-run homer in the home half of the inning.

Fifth Inning
After back-to-back singles to start the inning, the Golden Eagles used a fielder's choice to bring home an insurance run and extend their lead to 3-1.

Sixth Inning
Three more runs were pushed across by USM in the sixth to double their run output and take a 6-1 lead. A two-run single was followed by another run scoring single to score the three runs, both with two outs.

Seventh Inning
Four straight innings to start the inning for Southern Miss pushed a run across to lead 7-1.

Up Next
The Dukes will face sixth-seeded App State in an elimination game at 10 a.m. ET/9 a.m. CT on Thursday, May 25 at Riverwalk Stadium.