Kinsler’s 11 Strikeouts Not Enough to Tame No. 16 Coastal Carolina

Friday, March 15

Conway, S.C.

6 p.m.

James Madison University

12-6, 0-1

Coastal Carolina

16-2, 1-0

James Madison

Coastal Carolina

Kinsler’s 11 Strikeouts Not Enough to Tame No. 16 Coastal Carolina

3/15/2024 9:17:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score

CONWAY, S.C. – James Madison sophomore Jaden Kinsler struck out a career-high 11 batters, but it was not enough to tame the potent offense of No. 16 Coastal Carolina as the Dukes fell via the run rule, 12-1, on Friday night at Springs Brooks Stadium.

The Dukes fell to 12-6, dropping back-to-back games for the first time since the first two games of the season. The Chanticleers extended their win streak to 15 games as they improved to 16-2.

Graduate Brendan O'Donnell led JMU at the dish by going 1-for-2 with a walk and a home run, his eighth of the season. Kinsler made his first start of his career on the mound and proceeded to go a career-high seven innings with his 11 strikeouts. He scattered five hits and gave up four runs (three earned).

How It Happened
Fourth Inning
The first hit from either team in the game came one pitch into the fourth. Coastal's Blake Barthol, third in the country in homers coming into the weekend, hit his 11^th home run of the season. Two batters later, Caden Bodine hit his own solo shot for a 2-0 lead.

Fifth Inning
With two down, the Dukes got a run back on O'Donnell's eighth homer of the season, a solo shot to right center field to make it 2-1. It is his second homer in as many games as he went yard on Wednesday against Niagara.

Sixth Inning
CCU doubled its run output in the sixth on a two-run double from Bodine to make it 4-1.

Eighth Inning
Grand slams from Zack Beach and Barthol put eight runs on the board for the hosts to make it 12-1 and enact the run rule.

Game Notes

Jaden Kinsler's 11 strikeouts are the most since Justin Showalter struck out 11 Northeastern hitters on April 15, 2022.
Wyatt Peifer's 15-game reached base streak came to an end, while Brendan O'Donnell extended his to 14 games and his hit streak to seven.
JMU and CCU combined to leave only five runners on base (two for JMU and three for CCU).

Up Next
The Dukes and Chanticleers meet for the middle game of the series on Saturday, March 16 at 2 p.m. at Springs Brooks Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.