Dukes Mount Comeback Win with Seven Unanswered Runs

Saturday, April 6

Harrisonburg, Va.

4 p.m.

James Madison University

18-12, 5-6

App State

18-10, 5-6

App State

James Madison

4/6/2024 7:53:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – After going down four runs in the early going, James Madison baseball scored seven unanswered runs against App State for its largest comeback win of the season to win Saturday afternoon, 8-5, at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes won their first Sun Belt Conference series of the year and improved to 18-12 overall and 5-6 in league games. The Mountaineers fell to 18-10, 5-6 SBC and were held to their lowest run output since scoring three runs at Texas State on March 17.

Junior Ryan Dooley led the way for JMU at the play with a season-high-tying mark in hits, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored and two doubles. Sophomore Max Kuhle (2-3) earned the win with two innings of relief and three strikeouts. Senior Joe Vogatsky picked up his fifth save of the season by working the ninth inning, striking out two. He became the ninth Duke to reach 10 career saves in program history.

How It Happened
Second Inning
App State got on the board four batters into the inning. A double, a hit by pitch and a single loaded the bases for Graham Smiley to hit a grand slam for a 4-0 lead.

Fifth Inning
JMU cut the deficit in half with graduate Brendan O'Donnell's tenth homer of the season, smashing a two-run shot after Dooley doubled. The Dukes have now had a hitter record double-digit home runs in three straight season for the first time since 2001-11.

Sixth Inning
A hit by pitch from junior Fenwick Trimble and a Mike Mancini single put two on before a wild pitch moved both runners into scoring position. JMU capitalized on the opportunity, as junior Coleman Calabrese singled in both runs to tie the game at four.

Seventh Inning
The Dukes took a 5-4 lead on a sacrifice fly from freshman Kyle Langley, knocking in sophomore Wyatt Peifer who tripled just before. After Trimble reached on a single, Mancini added two more runs to make it 7-4 with his fifth long ball of the season.

Eighth Inning
The Mountaineers took a run back on a sacrifice fly to bring the game to a 7-5 score.

Dooley led the JMU eighth off with his second double of the game and moved to third on a single from O'Donnell. The cutoff throw from the outfield went wide of the cutoff man, allowing both runners to advance a run and JMU to regain its three-run lead at 8-5.

Game Notes

Joe Vogatsky moved into a tie for sixth place in program history for career saves with his 10^th.
Mike Mancini extended his hit streak to 12 games.
The 11-game hit streak of Jason Schiavone came to an end, but he extended his reached base streak to 12.
With runners on base, JMU hit 5-for-11 (.455).

Up Next
The two teams meet for the series finale at Veterans Memorial Park on Sunday, April 7 at 1 p.m.