HARRISONBURG, Va. – Nine unanswered runs scored by James Madison over the first four innings helped lift the Dukes past Cornell, 11-5, at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park on Friday afternoon.
Fenwick Trimble went 3-for-3 with four RBI on the day for James Madison (2-3), while Kyle Novak recorded both of his RBI on the day with a two-run, pinch-hit single in the fourth inning.
Kevin Scully earned the victory after tossing three scoreless innings of relief of Dukes starter Donovan Burke.
Freshman left-handed pitcher
Noah Keller was saddled with the loss for the Big Red. He allowed six runs over three-plus innings of work.
Fellow freshman hurler
Carson Mayfield and senior right-hander
August Biben also made their collegiate debuts Friday.
Mayfield allowed three unearned runs in 3.1 innings of relief for Cornell, while Biben recorded the final out of the eighth for Cornell (0-1).
Seven different Cornell hitters registered one hit apiece in the setback. Junior
Ryan Ross drove in three of the Big Red's five runs with a three-run home run in the first inning.
Cornell gave Keller some breathing room before he threw his collegiate pitch as the Big Red put up five runs in the first half-inning of the season.
After the first three Cornell batters reached base safely without swinging the bat, senior outfielder
Sam Kaplan singled home sophomore outfielder
Jakobi Davis for the Big Red's first run. Sophomore infielder
Max Jensen followed Kaplan with a sacrifice fly to score senior infielder
Joe Hollerbach. The lead was further extended with Ross' three-run blast to right field.
The first of James Madison's 11 unanswered runs over the course of the remainder of the game came in the home-half of the first thanks to an RBI single by Trimble.
Cornell's lead was further trimmed in the third on a three-home run by Trimble.
A pair of errors in the fourth proved to be costly for Cornell as James Madison plated five runs in the frame to leap out to a 9-5 lead. Three of the five runs scored in the inning ended up being unearned. The five-run inning was punctuated by Novak's pinch-hit, two-run base knock with two outs.
James Madison held Cornell's offense at-bay after it took the lead, yielding just three hits over the final five innings of play.
In the eighth, an error following a wild pitch and a sacrifice bunt with a runner at third base plated two more runs for the Dukes.
Game Notes
• Friday was the sixth all-time meeting between Cornell and James Madison. The Dukes increased its lead in the series to 4-2 with the victory.
• With Keller earning the Opening Day start, he became the first left-handed pitcher to start the Big Red's first game of the season since Zach McCulley against Navy in 2014.
• Ross' first-inning home run was his first round-tripper since hitting one against Princeton on April 9, 2022.
• The five-run inning was Cornell's highest scoring inning since crossing home plate five times in the bottom of the second against Dartmouth last year in the opening game of an April 23 doubleheader at Hoy Field.
Looking Ahead
Cornell and James Madison will play the middle game of the three-game series on Saturday from Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park. First pitch is slated for 2 p.m. Live audio of the contest will be available through JMUSports.com.
