HARRISONBURG, Va. - Jared Silva and two relievers held the James Madison Dukes to five hits, while Will Malbon and Matt Winn powered the offense with solo home runs as the VMI Keydets downed JMU, 7-3, in non-conference baseball action Wednesday afternoon at Eagle Field in Harrisonburg, Va. The game was the first Keydet midweek contest to be successfully played this season.
JMU (8-5) took a first inning 1-0 lead against Silva, but the freshman settled in and the Keydets (4-3) tied it on Malbon's homer in the third. A four-run uprising in the fifth, which included a two-run double by freshman Matt Dunlevy, gave VMI a lead it would not relinquish en route to a win.
Silva (1-0) picked up his first collegiate win by going five innings and allowing two runs on four hits. He walked one and struck out two. The VMI bullpen dominated over the final four frames, as Taylor Edens and Austin Heenan combined to allow one hit and strike out seven.
Trey Jones took the loss for the Dukes, as he fell to 0-1 after being tagged for four runs, three of which were earned, in just 1/3 of an inning.
JMU took the early lead, as Chad Carroll bounced a double over the head of third baseman Thomas Stallings. Carroll then stole third and one out later, scored on a Ky Parrott groundout to put the Dukes up, 1-0.
The Keydets countered in the third, when Malbon blasted a home run to right center field for the first long ball of his collegiate career to tie the contest, 1-1.
VMI then moved ahead in the fifth. Jordan Tarsovich led off with a walk, stole second and advanced to third on a fly out. Tyler Tharp then singled up the middle, plating Tarsovich to give the Keydets the lead. Ray Lopez was hit by a pitch and Will Connerley walked, loading the bases for Dunlevy, and after a passed ball scored a run, the freshman greeted lefty reliever Tucker McCoy with a two-run double to left center to put the Keydets up, 5-1.
The Dukes got a run back in the fifth, when Bobby San Martin drove in a run with a bunt, but Silva evaded further damage with a strikeout of Michael Sciorra and a groundout from Carroll that was picked nicely by shortstop Jacob Jaye on the backhand side.
Tharp then drove in a run with a groundout in the sixth, making it 6-2, and thanks to Heenan and Edens, that was the score until Winn led off the ninth with a blast to left field, his second home run of the year.
JMU tallied an unearned run in the ninth to account for the final margin, 7-3.
Dunlevy and Winn had two hits apiece for the Keydets, while Tharp went 1 for 3 with two RBI and two walks. Kevin Husum had the lone multi-hit game for the home team.
VMI baseball will return to action Friday, when the Keydets play host to Central Connecticut State at Gray-Minor Stadium. Game time is set for 4 p.m.
