MONTGOMERY, Ala. – Georgia Southern jumped out in front with four runs in the first inning, a deficit too large to overcome for James Madison baseball as it fell, 12-4, on Wednesday night at Riverwalk Stadium in the second round of the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University.
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The Dukes dropped to 32-22 on the year, while the Eagles improved to 31-25.
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Sophomore
Wyatt Peifer led the Dukes at the plate with a 2-for-3 showing, adding a stolen base. Freshman
Jackson Logar set career-high marks for innings pitched (6.1) and strikeouts (12), the most since teammate
Donovan Burke fanned 13 against Fairleigh Dickinson in 2022.
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How It Happened
First Inning
GS had runners on the corners two batters into the game and scored the first run of the game on a wild pitch. After loading the bases, a two-run single and a groundout plated three more runs for a 4-0 lead.
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Second Inning
The Eagles added two runs for a 6-0 lead on a double and a single.
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Third Inning
Junior
Fenwick Trimble and sophomore
Mike Mancini traded places with each other by hitting back-to-back doubles to get JMU on the board. After a throwing error allowed Mancini to move to third, he touched home plate on a wild pitch to make the score 6-2.
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Fourth Inning
A two-out double for the Eagles added a run on the board to make it 7-2.
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Seventh Inning
After a double from graduate
Brendan O'Donnell followed by a single from redshirt senior
Mason Dunaway, freshman
Ike Schmidly stepped up to plate as a pinch hitter and drove in O'Donnell on a sacrifice fly to make it 7-3.
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Eighth Inning
Junior
Jason Schiavone cut the deficit to three runs as he homered for the 18
th time this season to make the score 7-4.
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Ninth Inning
Four JMU errors allowed five runs to score for the Eagles to increase their lead to 12-4.
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Up Next
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Up Next
The Dukes will take on top-seeded and 21
st ranked Louisiana in an elimination game on Thursday, May 23 at Riverwalk Stadium. First pitch is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. ET/12:30 p.m. CT.
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