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McPherson, Weston homer for JMU baseball in series-opening loss at William and Mary

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jmu-wmSophomore second baseman Kyle McPherson and junior shortstop Kyle Weston both homered on Friday night, but the James Madison baseball team fell to William & Mary, 17-7, in Colonial Athletic Association action at Plumeri Park.

The Tribe used an eight-run third inning to put the game out of reach early, as a 20-hit evening saw them improve to 16-19 (7-6 CAA) in 2015. The two home runs snapped a five-game homerless streak, the Dukes’ longest such streak of the year, as JMU fell to 12-21 (2-12 CAA) on the season.

McPherson added a double to his fifth-inning blast en route to a 3-for-5 day at the plate that included two runs and a pair of RBIs. Senior right fielder Kevin Husum blasted his third triple of the season to left-center and sophomore left fielder Ky Parrott added a double down the right field line. Weston finished 1-for-4 with his first home run of 2015.

JMU struck first when redshirt junior designated hitter Chad Carroll led off the second inning with a seven-pitch walk. Two groundouts moved Carroll over to third before junior catcher Bobby San Martin bounced a single deep into the hole on the left side, bringing Carroll home to put the Dukes up 1-0.

W&M levelled things in the bottom of the frame with a run on two hits before sending 14 hitters to the plate in the third. Seven hits, all singles, saw the Tribe explode for eight runs and take a 9-1 lead that they would not surrender. W&M tacked on a 10th run on two hits in the bottom of the third before JMU could answer.

The Dukes scored three runs in the fifth, all with two outs. After sophomore third baseman Josh Wyatt was hit by a 1-0 pitch, Husum hammered a 1-2 pitch off the left-center field wall to cut the lead to 10-2. McPherson immediately followed him with his third home run, blasting a 1-2 pitch over the same section of the left-center field fence to make it 10-4.

After the Tribe responded with two runs in the bottom of the frame, Weston hit the second JMU home run of the night with his solo shot in the seventh. However, five W&M runs in the bottom of the seventh made it 17-5 and erased all doubt.

JMU picked up two runs on Parrott’s eighth inning double after McPherson had started the inning with a single and Carroll had gotten hit on a full count, but the Dukes would get no closer than 17-7.

Junior starter Aaron Hoover fell to 3-3 on the season with the loss while William & Mary starter Jason Inghram improved to 2-5 on the year, going seven complete innings in the victory.

The Dukes and the Tribe will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for the second game of their three-game series. First pitch is scheduled for 4 p.m., with live audio available from William & Mary.

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