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.
The Dukes dropped to 32-22 on the year, while the Eagles improved to 31-25.
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.
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.
Second Inning
The Eagles added two runs for a 6-0 lead on a double and a single.
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.
Fourth Inning
A two-out double for the Eagles added a run on the board to make it 7-2.
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.
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.
Ninth Inning
Four JMU errors allowed five runs to score for the Eagles to increase their lead to 12-4.
Up Next
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.