James Madison got swept at Georgia State and then came home to lose a game at home to the University of Richmond, 10-2. They fell behind right away as Richmond scored three runs in the first inning, though they answered right back with two runs of their own in the first inning. Richmond scored three runs in the second inning as well.
This game makes four losses in a row for James Madison. The Dukes used seven pitchers in this game. They got only 5 hits, and never led. They start a Sun Belt series at home, against Appalachian State. They hope to turn it around. Can they?
James Madison and Richmond Game Summary
This was not a good baseball game for James Madison. Coming on the heels of an error-prone sweep at conference foe Georgia State, Richmond beat them, at home, 10-2. You have to think Richmond is a rival of James Madison. The Dukes never led in this game, and the closest they got was 3-2 in the third inning.
The Spiders then pulled away, scoring at least one run in the first, second, fourth, fifth, and eighth innings. The Dukes used seven pitchers in the embarrassing home loss. They fell to 16-19 on the year. Richmond is now 20-16.
Losses
To a certain extent, a 3-2 loss is the same as a 10-2 loss. They both count the same in the standings, and one could argue that the one-run loss is more bitter than getting blown out. However, there is no sugarcoating the fact that James Madison lost at home to rival Richmond, 10-2.
That loss had to hurt, as it was the Dukes’ fourth in a row, and they were embarrassed at home by the rival Spiders. The Spiders hit six home runs in the rousing victory.
Highlights
A scouring of the box score reveals a few highlights for the Dukes. Reece Moody and Ike Schmidly both stole bases, and they scored the two runs for James Madison. Keegan Haesler drove in both runs. Moody, Schmidly, Haesler, Wyatt Campbell, and Jack Cannizzaro all walked.
Bryce Greene and Luke McGrath both have scoreless pitching outings, though McGrath only pitched an inning and Greene only pitched two-thirds of an inning. Many pinch-hitters and substitutes were used in this game. That most likely had to do with the blowout aspects of this game.
Not Many Errors
The game was fairly cleanly played. One might expect many fielding errors in a college game where one team scored 10 runs. However, Richmond only made one error, by Grant Kennedy. The Dukes made only two fielding errors, despite surrendering 10 runs. The errors were made by Clay Thompson and Jack Anderson.
The seven James Madison pitchers walked only two batters. Richmond used five pitchers, and all of them walked one batter. The runs scored by Richmond came off home runs. The Dukes grounded into three rally-killing double plays. Richmond also grounded into three double plays, in between scoring all those runs.
Schedule Running Out
With thirty-five games played so far this season, there are not many games left for the Dukes. This was a costly loss. The Dukes have a three-game conference series with Appalachian State this coming weekend. Next Tuesday at George Mason. This pattern basically repeats itself for the rest of the season.
The exception is May 14-16, when they play Old Dominion. The Sun Belt Conference Championship is May 19-24. There are 18 games left before the conference championship.
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