HARRISONBURG, Va. — Longwood jumped out to an early one-run lead, but James Madison erased it with a three-run rally to beat the Lancers 3-1 in a low-scoring game on Tuesday. JMU (4-0) won its fourth straight while snapping a three-game winning streak for Longwood (3-2).
Freshmen put the Lancers out front in the fourth inning.
Hunter Gilliam stayed hot and led with a single before a throwing error sent him to second. After Gilliam advanced to third on a groundout,
Cullan Wadsworth smashed a double to right-center for his first RBI of the season. Meanwhile, Gilliam went 2-4 for his second straight multi-hit game to bump his batting average up to a team-best .429. He is also tied for the team lead with three runs scored.
"Gilliam got us started offensively, and Wadsworth stepped up with a big two-out RBI," said Mau. "Several of our freshmen are doing a great job and hopefully can build off some of their early success."
The Lancers nursed a 1-0 lead heading to the bottom of the fifth before JMU's Michael Morgan snuck a two-run triple down the right field line to take a one-run lead. He scored one batter later on a sacrifice fly to put the Dukes up 3-1.
Meanwhile, James Madison's bullpen shut down Longwood's offense after the inning. The Lancers only had one baserunner, a pinch-hit walk by
Tyler Mahone in the ninth inning.
"We are pitching iwell and playing solid defense thus far, but we need to get more production from our lineup," said Mau. "We aren't firing on all cylinders yet, and we need some guys to get going soon."
On the mound, Longwood freshman
Andrew Melnyk came out in command in his first collegiate start. The big left-hander spun four scoreless innings with four strikeouts against four hits and a walk. After JMU touched up
Josh Longabaugh for three runs in the fifth,
Pedro Astacio, Jr.,
Alec Abdalah and
Jon Peterson limited James Madison to two baserunners in the final three innings.
"I thought Andrew was outstanding today," said Mau. "He commanded all his pitches and showed veteran poise out there. He gave us the start we were looking for from him. Astacio, Abdalah and Peterson did a great job out of the pen keeping us within striking distance."
JMU's Shelton Perkins earned the win by pitching a scoreless fifth and sixth inning, and Nick Robertson picked up his first save of the year.
The Lancers head back to the friendly confines of Buddy Bolding Stadium this weekend for a four-game series with Army that runs from Friday through Sunday. First pitch on Friday afternoon is set for 3 p.m.
#GoWood
