James Madison Loses 19-10 To Appalachian State In a Marathon Sun Belt Conference Game

James Madison lost a marathon game to Appalachian State 19-10 at home. This loss marks their sixth consecutive loss. They lost last night by getting shut out in a great pitching performance, and they lost tonight when they scored 10 runs; they gave up 19.

There were an incredible 29 runs scored in this game, which was definitely not a pitcher’s duel. With having now lost six games in a row, including five conference games, the Dukes have some soul-searching to do. Do you think the Dukes will be able to get back to winning?

James Madison and Appalachian State Game Summary April 18

The teams battled to a 9-6 score after just two innings. Appalachian State had the three-run lead early, and they scored five runs in the first inning, but they gave up five runs in the second inning. All of these runs were the products of doubles and singles, walks and ground outs.

There was a dizzying array of runs scored in the game; it is not worth going through all of them. However, in the seventh and eighth innings, Appalachian State hit home runs. Those shots made a 13-10 game a 15-10 contest. That was on the way to a 19-10 victory.

Hits Galore

Appalachian State had 20 hits in the game, and James Madison had 15. For the Dukes, Cameron Aycock, Reece Moody, and Kyle Langley (the top three batters in James Madison’s batting order) were all 3-for-5. Clay Thompson, who batted fourth, had three runs driven in. It was really those top four hitters who did most of the damage for James Madison. It is worth pointing out that they used a total of eight pitchers.

For Appalachian State, the offensive output was more distributed. Leadoff hitter Steven Smith was 3-for-5. He had 4 runs batted in. No. 2 hitter Riley Luft was 2-for-6, and Ethan Puig was 3-for-7. Colin Denton, the catcher who batted sixth, was 3-for-4. Charlie Evans, who batted eighth, was 3-for-5.

Smith and Kameron Miller, the designated hitter who batted fourth, hit the other home run. They used only three pitchers, and their starting pitcher, Gage Peterson, was asked to pitch 5 innings. He gave up seven earned runs.

Long Game

With 29 runs between James Madison and Appalachian State scored and so many pitchers used, perhaps it is not surprising that the game took 3 hours and 49 minutes. There is a pitch clock in college baseball, and many of the things that have been done to speed up professional baseball have been done in college. However, there was not that much the modifications could do in the face of such an offense onslaught.

Bad For Earned Run Average

With so many runs scored tonight, the outing was rough on the earned run averages. Some of the more spectacular pitching lines were for James Madison. Holden McKinney pitched 1.2 innings and gave up five runs. Teammate Griffin Madden pitched just one inning and gave up four runs.

Griffin Polley gave up three runs without recording an out. His earned run average for the game was infinity. Luke Alexander started the game and gave up four runs without recording an out. His earned run average is infinity as well for the game.