Fifth Longest Active Win Streak Snapped as Comeback Falls Short for Dukes

Sunday, March 10

Johnson City, Tenn.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

11-4

ETSU

11-4

James Madison

ETSU

Fifth Longest Active Win Streak Snapped as Comeback Falls Short for Dukes

3/10/2024 4:19:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. – James Madison baseball clawed back to come within one of ETSU after going down seven runs early, but the nation's fifth longest active win streak at 10 games was snapped as the Dukes fell to ETSU, 7-6, on Sunday afternoon at Thomas Stadium.

The Dukes dropped to 11-4, their first defeat since Feb. 19 at No. 2 Arkansas. The Buccaneers improved to 11-4.

At the plate, graduate Brendan O'Donnell led JMU by going 3-for-4 with a home run. Senior Ryan Murphy started for the Dukes and went three innings, giving up seven runs (six earned) and striking out one.

How It Happened
First Inning
ETSU put their first batter on base from a fielding error and followed it with a double. Cameron Sisneros then singled in both runners to give the Bucs a 2-0 lead.

Second Inning
The Bucs scored five runs in the next stanza, scoring on a throwing error and a single before Cisneros made it 7-0 in favor of the hosts on a three-run homer.

Fifth Inning
Doubles from redshirt senior Jacob Steinberg and sophomore Wyatt Peifer put JMU on the board. Steinberg put the first pitch he saw in the left center gap before Peifer two batters later put his first pitch into the right center gap to make it 7-1.

Seventh Inning
O'Donnell kickstarted a five-run inning for the Dukes with a leadoff homer to begin the seventh inning. After back-to-back singles and a sacrifice bunt, sophomore Mike Mancini knocked another run in on a groundout. After another single to put a pair of runners on, junior Ryan Dooley brought JMU within one at 7-6 with his second home run in as many games.

Game Notes

The four win streaks that were longer were Texas A&M and Florida State at 15 games, Tennessee at 14 games and Coastal Carolina at 13 games.
JMU's 10-game win streak was the 16^th double-digit win streak in program history and the first 10-game win streak since 2008.
Freshman Jackson Logar pitched a season-high 3.2 innings, not allowing a run and striking out one.

Up Next
The Dukes head back to Harrisonburg for two games on March 12-13 as they host Niagara at Veterans Memorial Park. Both games are scheduled for 4 p.m.