JMU baseball opens four-game set with 7-5 win over Canisius

Junior shortstop Chad Carroll went 3-for-5 with three RBI and his second home run of the season to lead the James Madison baseball team to a 7-5 win over Canisius in the first game of a four-game series at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

Sophomore left fielder Josh Wyatt also went 3-for-5 with a run while junior catcher Bobby San Martin was 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and two hit-by-pitches as the Dukes moved to 5-4 with the win. Junior left-hander Aaron Hoover went the distance on the mound, matching his career high with eight strikeouts en route to his first complete game since April 26, 2014.

Canisius struck in the first, plating the game’s first run with a single and a double, split up by a balk that moved the runner to second.

The Dukes, however, went back on top in the second on Carroll’s blast. After a pair of groundouts to shortstop, San Martin was hit by the first pitch he saw and freshman third baseman Bradley McKay knocked his first offering into right field to put runners on first and second.

Carroll watched a pair of strikes and fouled off a third pitch before launching an 0-2 pitch over the left-center field wall to put JMU up 3-1. The homer was Carroll’s second of the season and marked the 10th straight contest in which he has reached base, dating back to the 2014 season.

JMU added to its lead in the third when senior right fielder Kevin Husum and freshman center fielder Michael Sciorra both walked with one out. After a groundout moved the runners to second and third, San Martin launched a triple, his second of the year and one of three for the Dukes on Saturday, to deep center field to make it 5-1.

The Griffins struck for four in the fourth, leading off the inning with a solo home run to start a run of seven hits in eight plate appearances. Hoover worked out of the inning, but not before Canisius had tied things at 5-5. It would mark the last runs the left-hander allowed on the day.

The Dukes went ahead for good in the bottom half of the inning after Carroll led off the frame with a triple to left-center field. Sophomore designated hitter Ky Parrott walked and junior first baseman Kyle Weston bounced a fielder’s choice to third, scoring Carroll and making it a 6-5 lead for JMU.

In the bottom of the sixth, the Dukes tacked on an insurance run with a single from Wyatt, a balk and an RBI single from Parrott to reach the final margin. Hoover allowed just one baserunner in each of the final three innings, erasing two of the threats with double plays, including a 6-3 turn to close out the game.

Hoover moved to 2-0 with his complete-game victory while Canisius starter Devon Stewart fell to 1-3, taking the loss after four innings of work.

The Dukes will be back in action on Sunday when they take on the Griffins in an afternoon doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 12 p.m. and both contests will be seven innings.