Junior right-hander Chris Huffman (Fort Defiance, Va./Fort Defiance) recorded his third complete game of the season with seven strikeouts in JMU’s 8-3 victory over Hofstra on Saturday afternoon in a Colonial Athletic Association baseball game at University Field.
JMU improved to 10-17 overall and 2-2 in the CAA while HU dropped to 10-10 overall and 1-1 in the CAA.
Huffman’s third complete game was his seventh consecutive start working seven innings or more. He limited the Pride to three runs on six hits while matching his season high of seven strikeouts, set in his first start of the season in February. He also allowed just one walk.
The Dukes backed up Huffman’s effort on the mound by grabbing the lead with three runs in the third and tacking on runs in each the seventh, eighth and ninth innings. JMU led Hofstra in hits 10-6.
Senior third baseman Ty McFarland (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) socked his eighth home run of the season as part of a 2-for-3 day with two walks, two RBIs and two runs scored. Redshirt senior first baseman Matt Tenaglia(Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) and sophomore catcher Bobby San Martin (Fairfax, Va./Centreville) each added a pair of hits with a walk. Senior right fielder Tyler Gregory (Dothan, Ala../Houston Academy) also drove in a pair of runs.
David Jesch took the loss as the first of five Pride pitchers to drop his record to 2-1. He allowed three runs on five hits with six strikeouts in five innings. Third baseman David Leiderman was the only Hofstra player with multiple hits while also driving in a run.
The game was scoreless through the first two frames until the Dukes got started with a pair of one-out walks in the third. Senior second baseman Conner Brown (Richmond, Va./Godwin) then singled to left field to drive in the first run and Tenaglia added a single to center to make it 2-0. A third run in the inning scored on a balk.
The Dukes added to their lead in the seventh as McFarland followed junior center fielder Kevin Husum’s (Panama City, Fla./Bay) single with his eighth round tripper, a two-run shot to right center to make it 5-0.
That started an exchange of runs over five consecutive half innings. Hofstra registered its first run in the eighth on Leiderman’s RBI single up the middle. Redshirt sophomore shortstop Kyle Weston (Penn Laird, Va./Spotswood) singled to score San Martin, who had doubled to lead off the eighth. A pair of RBI groundouts scored runs for Hofstra in the eighth to make it 6-3.
JMU earned the two runs right back in the ninth thanks to a two-out rally. After a pair of groundouts, Tenaglia walked and San Martin was hit by a pitch. A wild pitch pushed both runners into scoring position for Gregory, who singled to right field to make it 8-3. Huffman worked a perfect ninth inning to cap the complete game effort.
The series finale will be Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
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