James Madison used a five-run eighth inning to cap a rally from a 6-1 deficit and win the opener 9-6 while Georgia State coasted to a 16-3 triumph in the second game of a Colonial Athletic Association baseball doubleheader on Saturday afternoon at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park.
JMU stands at 22-10 overall and 11-6 in the CAA after the split. GSU sits at 24-9 overall and 6-5 in league play. JMU won its fourth in a row in the opener with all four wins coming after the Dukes trailed in the seventh inning or later. However, the trend of fighting back caught up with JMU in the nightcap with the GSU rout.
Game One – James Madison 9, Georgia State 6
In the opener, JMU rallied from a 6-1 deficit and pushed across five runs in the eighth to defeat GSU 9-6.
The Panthers led 6-1 going into the bottom of the sixth and led in hits 8-2. The Dukes pushed across two in the sixth and one in the seventh to make it 6-4.
Junior catcher Jake Lowery (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) started the inning with his 17th homer of the season. An RBI single by freshman designated hitter Tyler McFarland (Bridgewater, Va./Turner Ashby) tied the score and a two-run double by freshman third baseman Conner Brown (Richmond, Va./Godwin) gave the Dukes the lead at 8-6. The final run came in on a fielder’s choice grounder.
Redshirt senior left-hander Sean Tierney (Midlothian, Va./Clover Hill) earned the win to improve to 5-1. He allowed no runs on one hit in the final 2 2/3 innings. Sophomore D.J. Brown (Locust Grove, Va./Orange County) started for the Dukes and allowed six runs, four earned, on eight hits in 6 1/3 innings.
Senior shortstop David Herbek (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) finished 3-for-4 with two runs, two RBIs, and a double. McFarland and Brown each went 2-for-4.
Aidan Francis took the loss in relief for the Panthers to fall to 4-2. He allowed five runs on four hits in one inning in relief of starter Will Campbell. Campbell held the Dukes to three runs, two earned, on seven hits in six innings.
Left fielder Mark Micowski, first baseman Brandon Williams, third baseman Drew Shields and right fielder Carter Sackett each had two hits to account for eight of the team’s nine hits.
After stranding a runner at third with one out in the first, Georgia State came back in the second to put the first two on via a hit batter and a bunt single. Sackett then delivered an RBI double to the corner in left and a walk loaded the bases, still with no outs. A sharp lineout to left was tracked down by junior left fielder Ian Haynes (Danville, Va./Tunstall) with the sacrifice fly by shortstop Bryan Condotta bringing in the second run. The third run came in on a throwing error as the Dukes tried for a double play to end the inning.
GSU came right back in the third with leadoff runners on a JMU error and a Williams single. After a strikeout, Shields singled through the left side to drive in the fourth run.
Redshirt senior center fielder Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) walked to lead off the JMU fourth. He moved to second on an error, third on a groundout and scored on a single by Herbek, just the second hit of the game to that point for the Dukes.
The Panthers added a run in the fifth as a pair of singles set up runners on the corners with two outs. Sackett took off to attempt to steal second with the throw getting him hung up. Williams came in to score during the rundown with Sackett then caught on the play to end the inning.
Foltz again started things for the Dukes in the sixth with a double. With two outs, Herbek found the gap in right center and hustled into second for a double. Sophomore first baeman Matt Tenaglia (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks East) added a single through the right side to make it 6-3.
In the seventh, Haynes stood on first with two outs when sophomore right fielder Cole McInturff (Centreville, Va./Westfield) lined a ball just inside the bag at third and into the left-field corner. Haynes came all the way around to score to make it 6-4.
The Dukes struck again in the eighth as Lowery led off with a solo shot to right for his 17th home run of the season. It was his sixth in the last six games and pulled him into a tie for seventh in program history for season home runs. Herbek singled and stole second, Tenaglia walked and McFarland followed with an RBI single to tie the score at 6-6 with runners still on the corners and no outs. McFarland stole second and two runs came in as Brown doubled just past the first baseman’s glove and into the right-field corner for a JMU lead at 8-6. Haynes hit a sharp grounder to shortstop with Brown sliding in safe at home to make it 9-6.
Game 2 – Georgia State 16, James Madison 3
Right-hander Charley Olson pitched the first complete game of the year against JMU and benefitted from five double plays, including four in the first four innings, as GSU topped JMU 16-3.
Olson improved to 3-3 after allowing three runs on nine hits in nine innings of work with four strikeouts.
Micowski went 4-for-6 with three RBIs with a home run. Ryan Fleming was 3-for-5 with six RBIs and a pair of home runs to up his season total to 11. Brandon Williams had a pair of hits with a home run and four runs scored. Condotta was 3-for-5 with five RBIs.
Senior left-hander Alex Valadja (Pittsburgh, Pa./North Catholic) took the loss as the starter. He allowed eight runs, five earned, on nine hits in five innings.
Herbek went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a double. Foltz was also 2-for-4 while sophomore second baseman Bradley Shaban (Midlothian, Va./Cosby) hit a solo home run.
GSU grabbed the lead in the first inning with a solo home run from Brandon Williams to left field. The Panthers added to it in the second after a leadoff double by Shields and a hit batter. Two-out singles by Condotta and Micowski each drove in runs to make it 3-0.
Williams drew a one-out walk in the third inning and Fleming smacked a two-run shot to right field to make it 5-0.
JMU answered in the third as Shaban led off the frame with a solo homer to right, his fourth of the season. After the third double play in three innings, Foltz singled, stole second and Lowery walked. Herbek then singled to left center to drive in Foltz and make it 5-2.
In the fifth, GSU got a one-out walk and put a runner on via a JMU fielding error at first. After a lineout, the Panthers posted three unearned runs on a hit by pitch of Hammond with the bases loaded and a Condotta two-run single to make it 8-2.
Georgia State struck for three runs in the eighth on a dropped error in right field by the Dubkes followed by an RBI double. JMU got one in the eighth on an RBI double by Herbek, his fifth hit of the day and 54th career double to tie for seventh in JMU history.
Micowski added a two-run GSU homer in the ninth and Fleming hit his second of the game, a three-run shot, to cap the scoring on the day for the Panthers.
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