Conor Hartigan had a three-RBI night against his former team on Wednesday to lead No. 7 Virginia Tech past James Madison, 11-8, during the teams’ back-and-forth affair at English Field at Atlantic Union Bank Park.
Hartigan – who played at JMU from 2018 to 2021 – went 2-for-5 for the Hokies, bookending Tech’s scoring with his RBI double during the second inning and his two-RBI base knock during the seventh inning. The Hokies’ designated hitter was one of four Tech players who finished with multiple hits against the Dukes and was also one of eight starters who crossed the plate.
Virginia Tech (29-9) avenged its March defeat to James Madison (23-18), surviving the pesty Dukes by overcoming tied scores at 2-2, 3-3, 7-7 and 8-8. In victory, the Hokies have now won 19 of their last 22 games, setting the stage for their upcoming top-15 rivalry series at the home of their in-state rival, No. 11 Virginia.
Tanner Schobel and Jack Hurley posted near-identical stat lines, each batting 3-for-4 with two runs scored, an RBI and a walk. Together, the Tech duo combined to yield three of the Hokies’ six doubles, including Hurley’s game-winning hit during the bottom of the seventh inning.
After James Madison had leveled the game at 8-8 during the top of the seventh inning, Tech rallied behind Schobel, who stroked a two-out single to center field. Hurley proceeded to pull a high fly ball into the night sky that gave Carson Bell trouble in right field, dropping on the warning track to score Schobel as the go-ahead run.
Despite losing their 2-0 lead during the third inning, the Hokies recovered to knock out JMU starter CJ Czerwinski during the bottom of the fourth inning. Nick Biddison delivered the sacrifice fly that tied the game at 3-3, two batters before Schobel belted the run-scoring single to center field that sent Tech in front, 4-3.
Defensive miscues marked the Dukes’ downfall, allowing the Hokies to score four unearned runs during the contest. Mason Dunaway threw away Cade Hunter’s should-have-been double play to concede two runs to Tech while Trevon Dabney’s dropped foul ball gave Carson DeMartini new life, prompting him to double and score on Lucas Donlon’s sacrifice fly.
Tech appeared in control at 7-3 while heading to the sixth inning, though gave up four game-tying runs there to JMU. Kyle Novak made things interesting when his slow-developing ball with the bases loaded led Christian Martin too far off line, resulting in a rare, two-RBI infield single that tied the game.
Brady Kirtner led the Hokies’ arms with four strikeouts, logging two and two-thirds innings of relief. Jonah Hurney picked up his third win of the season, lasting two and one-third innings, while Christian Worley earned his first collegiate save, striking out two batters during the ninth inning.
On the mound, JMU and Tech combined to issue 16 walks, four wild pitches and hit one batsman.
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