Bounce back

JMU baseball’s sweep of Louisiana is a sign of potential success in conference play

By JACKSON HEPHNER The Breeze

It’s the bottom of the ninth in game one of JMU’s three-game series versus Louisiana. The Dukes are down 8-7. With one out and runners on first and second, graduate outfielder Jaylon Lee steps up to the plate, pinch hitting for freshman second baseman Mike Mancini.

Lee had a chance to cool off a Ragin’ Cajuns squad riding high heading to Harrisonburg. Three days before, Louisiana upset No. 1 LSU 8-5 on the road. It was the first time the Ragin’

Cajuns had defeated a top ranked opponent since they also topped the Tigers 4-1 in 2014.

Head coach Marlin Ikenberry said when looking for a pinch hitter, he was looking for a batter who could drive in a double. Instead, Lee drove in a three-RBI homer, giving the Dukes a 10-8 win.

Lee’s teammates mobbed him at home plate, and it wasn’t long before he was drenched with a cooler full of Gatorade. Ikenberry called the win huge for his team, emphasizing how much JMU talks about winning weekends.

“We don’t know these teams historically,” Ikenberry said of Sun Belt foes, “so you don’t really know what you’re gonna get until they get here.”

Winning weekends has been easier said than done for the Dukes in conference play. Before Louisiana, the Dukes had won only one threegame series in conference play and were coming off their worst series loss yet — Southern Miss.

After falling 7-6 in a close game one to the Golden Eagles, the Dukes put up a single run in a lopsided 7-1 game two defeat and were runruled in the series finale 15-2. In three days, the Eagles outscored the Dukes 29-9.

JMU’s midweek game versus Maryland on April 19 wasn’t much better. The Dukes scored 12 runs but allowed 19 to the Terrapins, snapping their undefeated record in midweek games (101) in the process.

Meanwhile, Louisiana started its conference slate winning three of its first five Sun Belt series. That previous weekend, the Ragin’ Cajuns had lost their series to Troy two games to one, but they bounced back in historic fashion during their midweek game versus No. 1 LSU.

“Obviously, they’re really good,” JMU sophomore designated hitter Ryan Dooley said after game two. “To go out and beat the No. 1 team in the country, it’s not everyday you do that.”

Game one of three ended up being the closest the Ragin’ Cajuns were to defeating the Dukes.

Ikenberry said his team needed to pitch better in games two and three. In game one, Ertlschweiger pitched a career-high five innings and six strikeouts, Ertlschweiger started game one against Southern Miss, giving up five hits and six runs in just 1.1 innings pitched. It ended up being Ertlschweiger’s first loss of the season, and after he started game one against Louisiana, he said his strategy going in was just to bounce back.

But his performance was followed by four JMU pitchers who combined for four strikeouts, eight hits and five runs. Ikenberry said the number of pitching changes was because he wanted to just give the Ragin’ Cajuns different looks to “hold on there.”

In game two, the Dukes played just two pitchers. Sophomore Todd Mozoki started on the mound and pitched 4.1 innings, allowing five hits and five runs. Freshman Jaden Kinsler took over for the final 4.2 innings, picking up the win while allowing three hits and no runs — in the process tying his career high in strikeouts (4) and setting a new one in innings pitched.

The improvement from the pitching staff was complemented by another strong offensive performance. The Dukes put up 13 runs against the Ragin’ Cajuns, led by Dooley’s seven RBIs, including a grand slam in the fourth.

“I think we hunted a lot of good pitches,” Dooley said. “We got some good pitches and did our job.”

Ikenberry said after that game he called Dooley “Mr. April” because of his combined 12 hits and five RBIs in the month last season. In game three, Mr. April struck again, hitting a two-RBI homer in JMU’s 9-4 victory. Freshman second baseman Mike Mancini led the Dukes in RBIs with three, including his first-career homer. JMU’s bullpen put together another efficient performance in game three. Junior Ryan Murphy, redshirt junior Matt Kleinfelter and redshirt freshman T.R. Williams combined to allow just seven hits and four runs. Meanwhile, Louisiana used six different pitchers who combined to allow 12 hits and nine runs.

When the dust settled, the Dukes outscored the Ragin’ Cajuns 32-14, marking the first time they’d outscored a Sun Belt opponent in a threegame series. The win also propelled them from 11th to ninth in the Sun Belt standings, bringing them back into the picture for the 10-team Sun Belt tournament.

Before then, the Dukes still have four series to go in regular season Sun Belt play, with Appalachian State next on the slate starting Friday at 6 p.m.

Moving forward, thanks in part to JMU’s series against Louisiana, the tournament is within reach.

CONTACT Jackson Hephner at breezesports@gmail.com. For more baseball coverage, follow the sports desk on Twitter at @TheBreezeSports.