James Madison fought back from a 9-1 deficit in the second game of a doubleheader and the top three batters in the order pounded out 16 hits and 13 RBIs in two games as JMU swept Binghamton 9-2 in seven innings and 11-9 in non-conference baseball action on Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.
JMU improved to 4-3 with the pair of victories while BU fell to 2-4.
Senior third baseman Ty McFarland (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) homered three times on the day, going 6-for-8 with five RBIs, two walks and seven runs scored in the leadoff spot. No. 2 batter Kevin Husum (Panama City, Fla./Bay) was also 6-for-8 on the day with four runs and two RBIs. Third hitter Matt Tenaglia (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) was 4-for-6 with six RBIs, three runs and three walks in the two games.
Game 2 – James Madison 11, Binghamton 9
JMU rallied from a 9-1 deficit after two and a half innings with 10 unanswered runs, including a seven-run fourth, as the Dukes pounded 14 hits in an 11-9 victory.
McFarland homered twice to right field, including a three-run shot in the seven-run fourth and the go-ahead blast in the fifth. He was 3-for-4 in the game with four runs, four RBIs and two walks. Husum was 3-for-4 with two RBIs while Tenaglia doubled for his only hit but walked three times. Redshirt sophomore shortstop B (Penn Laird, Va./Spotswood) and sophomore designated hitter Bobby San Martin (Fairfax, Va./Centreville) each had two hits with a run and an RBI. San Martin had four hits on the day.
Freshman southpaw Michael Evans (Falls Church, Va./George C. Marshall) worked three no-hit innings with four strikeouts to earn his first collegiate victory. Junior right-hander Ben Garner (Burke, Va./Paul VI) blanked the Bearcats for the final two innings to earn his first career save.
Greg Ostner allowed two runs on four hits in 2 2/3 innings to take the loss for Binghamton. Center fielder Bill Bereszniewicz, shortstop Brendan Skidmore, second baseman Reed Gamache and first baseman Kyle Coronel each had multiple hits with Gamache smacking a pair of doubles.
The Bearcats jumped on the board early for the third straight game in the series, tagging JMU starter Taylor Krugh (Edwardsburg, Mich./Marian (Ind.)) for six runs in the first inning while adding three unearned runs in the third to take a 9-1 lead.
However, JMU answered back with one in the third before erupting for the seven in the fourth. Weston doubled off the wall, narrowly missing a two-run home run, to drive in the first run and freshman second baseman Josh Wyatt’s (Eden, Md./James M. Bennett) first collegiate hit was an RBI double. McFarland greeted new pitcher Anthony Grillini with a three-run homer to make it 9-7. The Dukes kept the rally going with an RBI double by Tenaglia and an infield RBI single by San Martin to tie it at 9-9.
McFarland’s solo blast with one out in the fifth gave JMU its first lead of the game. Madison added an insurance run in the seventh on junior Chad Carroll’s (Oakton, Va./Oakton) RBI groundout.
Game 1 – James Madison 9, Binghamton 2 (7 Innings)
Junior right-hander Chris Huffman (Fort Defiance, Va./Fort Defiance) worked a complete game and redshirt senior first baseman Matt Tenaglia drove in five runs as JMU earned the 9-2 victory.
Huffman allowed two runs in the second inning before settling down to retire 16 of the final 21 batters he faced. He finished with six strikeouts and six hits allowed in the seven-inning complete game, the first of his career.
Batting third, Tenaglia benefitted from each of the two batters going ahead of him going 3-for-4 as he cashed in on the run-scoring opportunities with five RBIs. He posted consecutive two-run triples in the fourth and fifth innings and added an RBI double in the sixth.
In front of Tenaglia, McFarland and junior Husum each went 3-for-4 with three runs scored. McFarland doubled and homered. Catcher Bobby San Martin was 2-for-3 with a run scored.
Starter Mike Urbanski kept JMU quiet one time through the order before the Dukes erupted for three runs each in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings. He allowed six runs on seven hits in five innings to take the loss.
Binghamton spread its six hits among six different batters with third baseman David Schanz driving in both runs in the second inning.
The teams will wrap up the four-game series on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m.
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