NORFOLK, Va. – James Madison baseball managed to cut the deficit in half with a pair of home runs in the eighth inning but fell in its series finale with Old Dominion on Sunday afternoon, 6-3, at Bud Metheny Ballpark.
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The Dukes dropped to 21-14, 7-8 Sun Belt while the Monarchs improved to 18-17, 7-8 Sun Belt. Despite the loss, JMU leads 11.5-6.5 over ODU in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry Challenge.
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Junior
Coleman Calabrese led the way at the plate for JMU by going 2-for-4 with a home run. Junior
Casey Smith got the start on the mound and went 2.2 innings with three strikeouts.
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How It Happened
Second Inning
A single following a walk put runners on the corners for ODU, as it trotted the first run of the game off of a JMU fielding error to score the leadoff runner.
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Third Inning
A two-run homer from Luke Waters gave Old Dominion a 3-0 lead.
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Fourth Inning
Maverick Stallings hit another two-run homer for the Monarchs to extend the lead to 5-0.
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Sixth Inning
ODU tacked on a run on a sacrifice fly to make the score 6-0.
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Eighth Inning
JMU cut the deficit in half with a pair of home runs by junior
Fenwick Trimble and Calabrese. Trimble's fifth homer of the season was a two-run shot and put the Dukes on the board, with Calabrese's eighth long ball of the year making the score 6-3.
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Game Notes
- The two homers hit by JMU were just the ninth and tenth home runs this season to be hit with JMU trailing.
- JMU fell to 0-3 in rubber matches this season.
- The Dukes stranded seven runners, five of which were in scoring position.
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Up Next
The Dukes stay on the road in the Commonwealth as they travel to VMI on Wednesday, April 17 for a 6 p.m. first pitch.
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