Dukes Split First Two Games of Series Against Arkansas State

Friday, May 3

Harrisonburg, Va.

6 p.m./10 a.m.

James Madison University

27-18, 12-10

Arkansas State

19-25-1, 6-15-1

Arkansas State

James Madison

Dukes Split First Two Games of Series Against Arkansas State

5/4/2024 3:46:00 PM | Baseball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison baseball split the first two games of its series with Arkansas State on Saturday, winning the resumption of Friday's suspended game 9-4 and dropping game two by a score of 8-1 at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU moved to 27-19 overall and 11-11 in Sun Belt Conference action, while Arkansas State is now 20-25-1 (7-15-1 SBC).

Redshirt sophomore T.R. Williams pitched 4.0 innings in game one, tying a career-high eight strikeouts while only allowing one hit. Ryan Dooley and first baseman Jacob Steinberg each recorded two hits, while Coleman Calabrese launched a three-run home run and finished 1-for-3. In game two, the Dukes mustered only six hits and one run, which came on a solo home run from Dooley.

How It Happened
JMU 9, Arkansas State 4
First Inning
Fenwick Trimble reached on a throwing error to get things going, and after a sacrifice fly off the bat of Wyatt Peifer, Calabrese gave JMU a 4-0 lead with his eighth home run of the year.

Third Inning
Arkansas State scored two runs in the top of the third, taking advantage of a JMU error and notching four hits to cut the Dukes' lead to 4-2.

The Dukes added their fifth run of the contest on a Peifer groundout in the bottom half before the game was suspended for 15 hours due to rain and lightning. The game resumed at 10 a.m. on Saturday.

Fifth Inning
T.R. Williams, who entered in the top of the fourth inning, struck out the side looking after entering in relief for Jackson Logar after the delay. Williams retired the first seven batters he faced, which included five strikeouts.

In the bottom of the inning, Brendan O'Donnell walked with the bases loaded, Steinberg recorded a sacrifice fly to bring in one, and Dooley smacked a two-RBI double to make it 9-2 through five.

Sixth Inning
Williams continued to work in the sixth, dishing out a trio of punchouts and allowing just one hit.

Ninth Inning
A-State picked up two runs in the top of the ninth on a two-RBI single from Alen Grier, but TJ Brooks retired the Red Wolves and helped secure the 9-4 victory.

Arkansas State 8, JMU 1
Second Inning
Arkansas State put two on base in the top of the second, but starter Donavon Burke struck out a Red Wolf looking to keep the game at 0-0.

Third Inning
A-State broke through with RBIs from Grier and Jared Toler to take a 2-0 lead heading into the bottom of the third. The Red Wolves followed that with a pair of runs in the fourth via a fielder's choice and groundout to make it 4-0.

Sixth Inning
Arkansas State's lead grew to 6-0 thanks to an RBI single from Wil French and a walk by Jake Williams to score French. The Dukes responded with a solo shot to right from Dooley to cut the deficit to 6-1.

Eighth Inning
In the top of the eighth, Toler singled to right to bring Grier and French across for an 8-1 advantage. JMU mustered just one hit the rest of the way as the Red Wolves took the second game, 8-1.

Game Notes

James Madison leads Arkansas State in the all-time series, 2-1.
T.R. Williams tied his career-high of eight strikeouts in a season-high four innings of work.
With Dooley's home run in the second game, the Dukes have produced 70 home runs this season, the sixth-most in a single season in JMU history. The 2006 team owns the program record with 101 homers in 59 games.
Mike Mancini recorded his 13th multi-hit game of the year in game two.

Up Next
The Dukes and Red Wolves meet in the series finale on Sunday, May 5 at Veterans Memorial Park. The First pitch is slated for 12 p.m. and will stream on ESPN+.