March 27, 2007

HARRISONBURG, Va. - James Madison University scored three runs in the bottom of the eighth inning for an 8-6 come-from-behind victory over Virginia Tech on Tuesday at Mauck Field.

The Dukes' winning rally came against Tech reliever Rhett Ballard (High Point, N.C.), who took the mound in the eighth inning nursing a 6-5 lead. JMU left-fielder Matt Townsend looped an 0-2 pitch over second base to start the inning. Townsend moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and scored on a pinch-hit single by Lee Bujakowski. Following a walk that advanced pinch runner Bryan Lescanec to second, third baseman Joe Lake singled to left field, putting the Dukes ahead. Shortstop Davis Stoneburner was then hit by a pitch to load the bases for designated hitter Kellen Kulbacki, who lifted a sacrifice fly to center for his fourth RBI of the day.

James Madison (8-16) took advantage of walks and home runs to keep the game close despite being out-hit 9-4 over the first five innings. The Dukes took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second inning on third baseman Matt Browning's solo home run to right center off Hokie starting pitcher Evan Frederickson (Oak Hill, Va.).

Tech, now 15-11, put its first two men on base to start the third inning courtesy of singles by catcher Anthony Sosnoskie (Front Royal, Va.) and right fielder Sean Ryan (Ashburn, Va.). Center fielder Nate Parks (Roanoke, Va.) followed with a three-run homer to left center. Doubles by third baseman Bryan Thomas (Wilmington, N.C.) and designated hitter Jose Cueto produced another run in the inning as the Hokies went on top 4-1.

The Dukes quickly erased the deficit in the bottom of the inning when Frederickson walked the first two batters in the frame and then yielded a homer to Kulbacki, his eighth of the season.

Three doubles helped Tech reclaim the lead in the top of the fifth. First baseman Sean O'Brien (Chappaqua, N.Y.) got a two-base knock with one out and scored on a two-out double by second baseman Adam Redd (Dumfries, Va.). Cueto's second RBI-double of the contest made it 6-4 in the Hokies' favor.

A solo homer by JMU's Stoneburner started the bottom of the inning. Frederickson then gave up a single to Kulbacki and walked his seventh batter before coaxing a double play. Reliever Scott Stoehr (Timberville, Va.) took over at that point and went on to pitch 2.1 scoreless innings with four strikeouts before turning the pitching duties over to Ballard (4-2).

Tech finished the game with 13 hits, eight of which were doubles. Thomas accounted for three of those two-base hits, while Cueto added two. Parks and Ryan both joined Cueto with a pair of hits.

Kulbacki had a 3-for-3 day for JMU to go with his four RBIs. Lake added two hits as the Dukes finished with a team total of nine. JMU also benefited from nine base on balls, three wild pitches and two hit batsmen.

Dukes' reliever Jacob Cook shut Tech down over the final three innings, allowing just three hits in picking up his third win against three losses. Bobby Lasko, who came on in the ninth to record the final out, earned his third save of the year.

Tech's next action will be a three-game ACC home series against Virginia that starts Friday afternoon at 3.