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| JMUS 2009 SEASON ENDS WITH 9-6 WIN OVER #27 GEORGE MASON |
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| Thursday, 21 May 2009 05:06 |
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HARRISONBURG, Va., May 16, 2009 – Sophomore shortstop David Herbek’s (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield) three-run home run in the sixth propelled James Madison to a 9-6 rain-shortened victory over George Mason in the regular-season finale for both teams on Saturday afternoon at Long Field/Mauck Stadium. JMU ends its season at 30-24 and 12-11 in the CAA. The Dukes achieved 30 wins for the 23rd time and finished with a winning record for the eighth time in 12 seasons under head coach Spanky McFarland. The Dukes entered the day with a chance to qualify for the Colonial Athletic Association tournament, however wins by Delaware and Old Dominion eliminated Madison. JMU fell .002 percentage points shy of Delaware for the final spot. GMU will carry a 40-10 record into the CAA tournament as the top seed with a 19-5 conference mark. The Patriots, ranked 27th by the National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, own the nation’s best winning percentage and the fewest losses in the country. The game was also the final game played at Long Field/Mauck Stadium after 35 years as the home of the Dukes. A new facility on a new site, Veteran’s Memorial Stadium, will open for the 2010 season. Pregame ceremonies welcomed back several JMU baseball alumni and featured first-pitch tosses by former athletic director Dean Ehlers and former school president Dr. Ron Carrier. The game was tied at 4-4 in the middle of the fourth when it was halted for a two hour and 20 minute rain delay. After play resumed at 4:49 p.m., Mason grabbed the lead with a run in the sixth. Herbek’s home run came with two outs in the bottom of the sixth and the Dukes added a run on an RBI triple by junior center fielder Alex Foltz (Mathias, W.Va./East Hardy) in the eighth. The game was called by rain and lightning following the triple. Sophomore Kevin Munson (Roanoke, Va./Cave Spring) earned the win with four innings of relief, allowing one unearned run on two hits with five strikeouts. It was one out shy of his longest outing of the season while improving his record to 3-3. Foltz finished his hot play in May with a 3-for-5 game with a triple and two RBIs. For the month, he hit .478 (11-for-23) with a double, triple, and home run. For his career, Foltz is hitting .465 (53-for-114) in May. Redshirt senior designated hitter Lee Bujakowski (Hopewell, Va./Hopewell) went 2-for-3 in his final game with a walk, run, and two RBIs. Redshirt junior right fielder Matt Townsend (Lorton, Va./Hayfield) went 2-for-3 with a double, run, and RBI. He finished the season with a hit in 48 of 54 games and reached base in all but two games. Designated hitter Dan Shafferman had a three-run home run for the Patriots in his first start since March 31. First baseman Justin Bour went 2-for-3 with a double, two runs and a walk. Third baseman Mark Hill was 2-for-4 with a run and an RBI while right fielder Ryan Uphouse was also 2-for-4 with a solo homer. JMU started off well in the first inning with a pair of leadoff singles and a three balls, no strikes count on the third batter, but a double play groundout followed by another grounder derailed the scoring threat. Mason responded in the second inning with a leadoff double by Bour and an infield single by Hill. Schafferman then blasted a three-run shot to center field for a quick 3-0 lead for the Patriots. GMU added a two-out solo shot by Uphouse for a 4-0 advantage. JMU loaded the bases in the second on a hit batter, single, and a walk. Another walk by Bujakowski drove in the first run of the game for the Dukes. Townsend added a sacrifice fly to medium-depth right field, with redshirt junior catcher Chris Johnson (Shrewsbury, N.J./Red Bank Regional) narrowly sliding under catcher Chris Henderson’s tag at home. Foltz added an RBI single to right center for a 4-3 score. Redshirt sophomore first baseman Trevor Knight (Charlottesville, Va./St. Anne’s-Belfield) then reached on a throwing error by the third baseman to score Bujakowski and knot the score at 4-4. A pair of one-out singles put two runners on base for Mason in the third. Hill followed with a single down the left-field line for a 5-4 lead. Schafferman then flied out to right and the throw to first was able to double up Hill to end the inning. In the bottom of the third, junior left fielder Matt Browning (Mystic, Conn./Fitch) led off with a single and moved to third on a pair of groundouts. After a walk, Bujakowski singled to right to drove home Browning with the tying run at 5-5. After the two hour and 20 minute delay, George Mason put a leadoff runner on in the sixth. He moved to second on a sacrifice bunt attempt and reached third when the throw to first got away for an error. With runners on the corners and one out, both advanced a base on a balk for a 6-5 Mason lead. JMU put runners on in the bottom of the sixth on a double by Townsend and a walk by Knight. Herbek then smashed a three-run shot just over the wall in left for an 8-6 lead. Bujakowski singled in his final JMU at bat in the eighth and Foltz tripled with one out to drive in the run. With a one ball, two strike count on Knight, the game went into a delay and was officially called after a 52 minute delay. Prior to the game, JMU honored five seniors playing their final home game, including Bujakowski, Johnson, starting pitcher Justin Wood (Dayton, Va./Turner Ashby), pitcher Kurt Houck (Gilbertsville, Pa./Boyertown), and pinch hitter/left fielder Bryan Lescanec (Charlottesville, Va./Western Albemarle). Houck missed his final season due to injury. With the results of other games, Wednesday’s opening day of the CAA tournament is set. Top-seeded George Mason will face #6 Delaware at noon. Second-seeded Georgia State squares off with fifth-seeded Northeastern at 3:30 p.m. Host and #3 seed UNC Wilmington battles #4 Old Dominion at 7 p.m. NOTES: Townsend’s single and double gave him 150 total bases for the season, tying for ninth on the JMU charts… his hit by pitch was the 13th of the season, matching David Herbek’s total for fourth in JMU history |