Dukes Head to Raleigh for Regional Action

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison baseball returns to the NCAA Division I Baseball Championship for the first time since 2011, as it heads down to North Carolina's capital for the Raleigh Regional. The Dukes will take on South Carolina in the opening game of the regional and are joined by Bryant and host NC State in the four-team field.

Who: (10)/No. 1 NC State Wolfpack (33-10, 18-11 ACC), No. 2 South Carolina Gamecocks (36-23, 13-17 SEC), No. 3 James Madison Dukes (34-23, 17-13), No. 4 Bryant Bulldogs (36-19, 17-7 AEC)
What: Raleigh Regional – 2024 NCAA Division I Baseball Championship
Where: Doak Field at Dail Park
When: Friday, May 31 – Monday, June 3
How to Watch: ESPN+ and the Watch ESPN app (subscription required) for games one and two, TBD for games three through seven
How to Listen: Morris Insurance & Financial JMU Radio Network | Radio: 106.9 FM/1360 AM
How to Follow: NCAA.com
Know More: JMU Game Notes
Social Media: @JMUBaseball, #GoDukes, #NCAABaseball, #RoadToOmaha

Scouting the Dukes

James Madison made a run to the semifinals with a 2-2 showing in the Guardian Credit Union Sun Belt Conference Baseball Championship presented by Troy University. Its 34 overall wins and 17 league wins are both the most in a season since 2011.
Leading the way for the Dukes at the dish is junior Fenwick Trimble with a .371 batting average. He also leads the team in RBI's with 61 and is one of five Dukes in double-digits for home runs. Classmate Jason Schiavone has slugged a team-leading 18 homers.
Strikeout leader Max Kuhle leads the pitching staff with a team-low 4.13 ERA among qualified pitchers to go with his 67 punchouts. Graduate Donovan Burke has logged 84.0 innings this season to lead the staff.

Scouting the Field

The 11^th-ranked Wolfpack head into regional play after splitting a pair of games in pool play during the ACC Championship. The offense runs through All-ACC Second Team selection Alec Makarewicz, who leads the team in hitting (.376), homers (19) and RBI's (71). On the pitching staff, Sam Highfill leads the team in innings pitched (68.0) and strikeouts (69) while Ryan Marohn has a team-low 3.60 ERA among the qualified pitchers.
South Carolina had a 3-2 performance at the SEC tournament, with a win over No. 5 Arkansas. Second Team All-SEC selection Cole Messina leads the lineup with a .330 batting average and 69 RBI's, with his 20 home runs second to Ethan Petry's 21. Eli Jones leads the pitching staff with a team-low 5.32 ERA among qualified pitchers and 64.1 innings pitched. Ty Good is the strikeout leader at 70.
The top seed in the America East tournament, Bryant won the title by sweeping the field with a win over UMass Lowell before taking down UMBC in back-to-back days. America East Player of the Year Gavin Noriega leads the offense, ranking first on the team in homers (18) and second in batting (.338) and RBI's (58). On the mound for the Bulldogs, Luke Delongchamp has a 2.76 ERA to lead the team while Austin Wainer leads the team in strikeouts (67) and innings pitched (80.1).

All-Time vs. Regional Opponents

The Dukes are 2-7 against NC State in nine previous meetings. The last time the teams squared off was to open the season in 2020, with the Dukes falling in all three games Feb. 14-16. JMU has faced the regional host before in the tournament, taking on the Wolfpack when they were regional hosts in 2008.
JMU has faced South Carolina 10 times in program history, going 1-9 in those games. The last time the Dukes faced the Gamecocks was in the Raleigh Regional in 2008. The Dukes have also faced SC in regional play in 1983 and 1988, with the lone win in the all-time series taking place in the first game of the Atlantic Regional on the way to JMU's only appearance in the College World Series. JMU is 1-3 against SC in neutral sited games.
Only three previous times have the Dukes faced Bryant, hosting it for a three-game series in Harrisonburg on March 14-15, 2009. The Bulldogs came away with a series win, winning the first game and splitting a doubleheader the next day.

Dukes are Dancin'

JMU is heading to its 10^th regional in program history and first since 2011.
Eight of the nine previous regionals have been at the Division I level.
The at-large berth is the seventh in program history and first since 2002.
The regional appearance is the first for JMU Head Coach Marlin Ikenberry in 20 years as a head coach and in 33 total years in college baseball as a player or assistant coach.

History with the Carolinas

The Dukes have a storied past with the Carolinas in the NCAA Championship. Five of the previous eight regional appearances at the Division I level have been in either North or South Carolina. The 1981 Eastern Regional took place in Columbia, S.C., where the Dukes also returned in 2002 in their last at-large appearance. JMU has participated in a Raleigh Regional before, being selected there in 2008. The 1983 Eastern Regional and the 2011 regional were both at Chapel Hill, N.C.
JMU has faced South Carolina in the 1981, 1983 and 2008 regionals, while taking on NC State in the 2008 regional as well.

Awards Season

Junior Fenwick Trimble was selected to the All-Sun Belt First Team, as he ranked in league games third in slugging percentage (.740) and homers (11), tied for third in hits (49), fourth in runs scored (38), sixth in OPS (1.184), seventh in RBI's (37), tied for seventh in batting average (.386) and eighth in stolen bases (10).
Graduate Brendan O'Donnell and sophomore Mike Mancini were both named to the Sun Belt All-Tournament Team. Both played all four games, with O'Donnell leading the team with a .500 batting average (8-for-16) with a homer, three doubles, four RBI's and six run scored while Mancini hit .438 (7-for-16) with a double, three runs scored and four RBI's.

Where It All Began

For four of the fifth-year seniors on the roster, the Raleigh Regional comes full circle. The quartet of Donovan Burke, Mason Dunaway, Hunter Entsminger and Matt Kleinfelter were all freshmen during the 2020 season that saw JMU begin the year with a three-game series at NC State.

Dukes Dig the Long Ball

JMU has hit 84 home runs this season, the third most in a single-season in program history behind 2006 (101) and 2002 (87). It's only the fourth time in program history a squad eclipsed 80 long balls in a season.
The Dukes boast five 10-homer hitters, the first time in program history that they have more than three on a roster in a season. Junior Jason Schiavone leads the way with 18, followed by graduate Brendan O'Donnell (16), junior Fenwick Trimble (14), sophomore Mike Mancini (11) and junior Coleman Calabrese (10).
From April 26 to May 23, the Dukes hit a home run in 15 consecutive games. It's the longest streak for the team in the 21^st century. Eight of the 15 games involved multiple home runs hit.

Trio of Ranked Wins

During the Sun Belt tournament, the Dukes picked up their third ranked win of the season as they took down then-No. 21 Louisiana after being down six runs for their largest comeback win since 2016.
The Dukes earned a win at then-No. 3 Arkansas in the season-opening weekend to tie for their highest ranked win in program history. JMU also took down then-No. 16 Coastal Carolina in the first league series of the season.
Since 2007, the Dukes have eight ranked wins. In addition to the three this season, they've knocked off No. 3 Virginia (2007), No. 20 Maryland (2015), No. 22 Seton Hall (2014) and Coastal Carolina twice when it was ranked No. 11 (2017) and No. 22 (2009).

Moving Up in the Record Books

Five Dukes are currently in the top 10 of either JMU single-season or career lists.
Graduate Brendan O'Donnell became the 11^th Duke to turn in a 20-double season in program history, sitting him tied for the ninth most in a single-season.
Tied for second in both single-season saves and career saves is senior Joe Vogatsky, recording nine and 14, respectively. His nine saves this season are the most in a season since Kevin Munson set the record of 10 in 2010.
In a single-season, junior Fenwick Trimble ranks tied for fifth in runs scored with 68 and tied for 10^th in at bats with 229. His 34 career home runs are tied for the seventh most.
With 18 home runs, junior Jason Schiavone ranks tied for the sixth most in a season.
The speedster Mike Mancini ranks tied for fifth for most stolen bases in a season at 29, one away from becoming just the third Duke ever to record 30 stolen bases in a year.
In addition to ranking third in home runs for a single-season, the team ranks tied for second in sacrifice hits (52), tied for fifth in sacrifice flies (31), tied for sixth in extra-base hits (217) and eighth in total bases (968).

Calendar

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Donovan Burke

Coleman Calabrese

Mason Dunaway

Hunter Entsminger

Matt Kleinfelter

Max Kuhle

Mike Mancini

Brendan O'Donnell

Jason Schiavone

Fenwick Trimble

Joe Vogatsky

JMU Footer

Scoreboard

Calendar

Completed Event: Baseball at Georgia Southern on May 2, 2025 , Win , 11, to, 1

Completed Event: Baseball at Georgia Southern on May 3, 2025 , Loss , 3, to, 5

Completed Event: Baseball at Georgia Southern on May 4, 2025 , Win , 7, to, 6

Completed Event: Baseball versus Maryland on May 7, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 6 , (10 innings)

Completed Event: Baseball versus Old Dominion on May 9, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 6 , (12 Innings)

Completed Event: Baseball versus Old Dominion on May 10, 2025 , Loss , 6, to, 9

Completed Event: Baseball versus Old Dominion on May 11, 2025 , Loss , 2, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball at Texas State on May 15, 2025 , Win , 9, to, 4

Completed Event: Baseball at Texas State on May 16, 2025 , Loss , 4, to, 5

Completed Event: Baseball at Texas State on May 17, 2025 , Win , 3, to, 1

James Madison University | Official Athletics Site