Wood Carves As Baseball Defeats James Madison, 6-4

Baseball VMIKeydets.com

Wood Carves As Baseball Defeats James Madison, 6-4

LEXINGTON, Va.? Daniel Wood pitched six innings of shutout baseball in relief as VMI claimed their first win in Lexington over JMU since 1989 in a 6-4 decision on Tuesday evening at Gray-Minor Stadium.

The Keydets (18-17) took a 5-2 lead with three-run third inning off of JMU starter John Mincone (1-3), who faced four batters in the second inning but failed to record an out. The freshman was tagged for six hits while retiring only three of the 11 batters he faced.

The Dukes (25-9) scratched across four runs off of Keydet starter Jason Farley through the first two-plus innings, before Wood (1-1) came on in relief. The redshirt-sophomore allowed an unearned run in his first inning of work then settled in to allow only three hits over his final five frames. Travis Smink came on to strike out the side in order in the ninth for his fifth save of the season.

“Daniel Wood did an awesome job today in relief,” said VMI head coach Marlin Ikenberry. “He came in, got us out of a jam and then mowed their hitters down for six innings. He was awesome tonight, and I'm really proud of how far he's come and what he's done to get himself in this situation, to beat one of the best teams in the state of Virginia.”

Mike Roberts went 3-for-5 with two RBIs for VMI, while Jordan Ballard went 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles and a run scored. Brian Sandridge knotted the game at two in the bottom of the first with his two-run single, while Sam Roberts and Tanner Biagini each plated runs for VMI.

“I was proud of our offense to come back after being down two runs early,” continued Ikenberry. “Then we put up the three-spot in the second to take the lead. Our offense is really starting to come around and look dangerous. I think that we have a lot of weapons that are starting to get going at the right time, and I'm really excited about that.”

The Dukes took a 2-0 lead in the first on RBI singles by Brett Sellers and Trevor Knight. After VMI rallied with five unanswered runs, JMU cut the lead to 5-4 in the third on a lead off home run by Sellers and an unearned run on an error.

Sellers paced the Duke offense by going 3-for-5 with two RBIs, while Knight went 3-for-4 with an RBI.

The win is the first by VMI over James Madison in Lexington since April 6, 1989, though this is only the fifth meeting in Lexington since that time.

VMI returns to action on Wednesday evening, playing host to Norfolk State at 6 p.m. at Gray-Minor Stadium.

Keydet Quick Hits
? VMI moved above .500 on the season for the first time since holding a 4-3 record on March 2.
? The Keydets now have the second-best record in Virginia against in-state opponents at 8-4, having won six of their last seven in such games.
? James Madison entered the game with the fourth-best (tied) road record in the nation at 11-2. The only team prior to Tuesday's contest to defeat the Dukes on the road had been Old Dominion.
? Overall, VMI has won eight of their last ten and 13 of their last 18.
? Daniel Wood has not allowed an earned run in 14 innings over four relief appearances.
? Jordan Ballard extended his career-best nine-game hitting streak, during which he is hitting .395 (15-for-38).

Print Friendly Version

Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

IF
6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

LHP
6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

C
6' 2"
Junior
R/R
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

IF/OF/P
6' 2"
Freshman
L/R
Brian Sandridge

#31 Brian Sandridge

OF
6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

LHP
6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
Daniel Wood

#13 Daniel Wood

LHP
6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L

Players Mentioned

Jordan Ballard

#26 Jordan Ballard

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Tanner Biagini

#24 Tanner Biagini

6' 3"
Sophomore
R/R
IF
Jason Farley

#11 Jason Farley

6' 3"
Freshman
L/L
LHP
Mike Roberts

#6 Mike Roberts

6' 2"
Junior
R/R
C
Sam Roberts

#4 Sam Roberts

6' 2"
Freshman
L/R
IF/OF/P
Brian Sandridge

#31 Brian Sandridge

6' 0"
Redshirt Sophomore
R/R
OF
Travis Smink

#35 Travis Smink

6' 2"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP
Daniel Wood

#13 Daniel Wood

6' 3"
Redshirt Sophomore
L/L
LHP