newsjmu almost rallies back from 8 0 deficit before falling to 14 virginia 9 8
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JMU almost rallies back from 8-0 deficit, before falling to #14 Virginia, 9-8

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#14 Virginia led JMU 8-0 after five and 9-3 with two outs in the eighth.

The final: ‘Hoos 9, Dukes 8.

That one got too real there late.

JMU (24-20) got a two-out RBI single from Kyle Novak, followed by a two-run homer off the bat of Jason Schiavone, to get the score to 9-6 in the eighth.

It would get hairy in the ninth off UVA closer Jay Woolfolk, who hit the first batter, Wyatt Peifer, then surrendered a single to Jack Cone, who had a 2-for-4 night.

A throwing error by Jake Gelof put runners on second and third with nobody out, and then a wild pitch from Woolfolk allowed Peifer to score and Cone to reach third.

A Mason Dunaway RBI groundout made it 9-8. Woolfolk walked Fenwick Trimble and Mike Mancini to put two on with one out.

Woolfolk induced flyouts from Trevon Dabney and Novak to close things out for Virginia (37-11), which has now won two straight.

Connelly Early (9-1, 2.89 ERA) got the win with six shutout innings. Early scattered five hits and a walk, striking out six JMU hitters.

Ethan O’Donnell (4-for-5, RBI), Kyle Teel (3-for-5, 2 RBI), Anthony Stephan (3-for-4) Jake G,elof (2-for-5, 2 2B, RBI), Casey Saucke (2-for-4, RBI) and Luke Hanson (2-for-3) each had multi-hit nights for the Cavaliers, who had 17 hits on the night.

Virginia has the weekend off before returning to action on Wednesday with a home game against Radford.

Chris Graham

Chris Graham

Chris Graham is the editor of Augusta Free Press. A 1994 alum of the University of Virginia, Chris has won 17 Virginia Press Association awards for his work as an investigative reporter, feature writer and columnist. Chris is the author and co-author of seven books, including Poverty of Imagination and Team of Destiny: Inside Virginia Basketball’s Run to the 2019 National Championship, both published in 2019, and The Worst Wrestling Pay-Per-View Ever, published in 2018. For his commentaries on news, sports and politics, go to my YouTube page, youtube.com/chrisgrahamAFP. Want to reach Chris? Try [email protected].