HARRISONBURG, Va. — Fenwick Trimble hit a two-out, walk-off grand slam in the bottom of the ninth to lift James Madison over Cornell, 7-5, to sweep the three-game series against the Big Red at Eagle Field at Veterans Memorial Park on Sunday afternoon.
Trimble drove in six of James Madison's seven runs on the day, as he went 3-for-4 with a double and his home run. Ryan Dooley drove in the other run for the Dukes (4-3).
All five Cornell runs came via the long ball as sophomore outfielder
Jakobi Davis and junior catcher
Nathan Waugh hit two-run home runs. Junior infielder
Matt Barnhorst added a solo blast for Cornell (0-3) in the setback.
Freshman
Beck Urofsky was saddled the loss for the Big Red after pitching an inning of relief. Junior
Von Baker had a strong start for Cornell, scattering four hits and one run over 5.2 innings of work. He walked three batters and fanned six Dukes batters.
Matt Kleinfelter was the winning pitcher for James Madison after pitching the ninth inning. T.R. Williams struck out eight batters over his four-inning start.
In what opened as a pitcher's dual, Baker and Williams combined to allow three hits and strikeout 10 batters over the opening three innings.
Cornell broke open the scoring in the fourth with a two-run home run by Waugh. The lead was further extended in the fifth behind Davis' two-run blast.
Barnhorst hit the Big Red's third home run in as many innings with a two-out shot in the sixth, giving Cornell a 5-0 lead.
Trimble drove in his first run of the day behind an RBI double in the home-half of the sixth.
RBI singles by Trimble and Dooley in the eighth cut Cornell's lead to just two.
The bottom of the ninth started well for James Madison as it drew a leadoff walk before Jacob Steinberg hit a double to put a pair of Dukes runners in scoring position. Following a popout and a strikeout, Kyle Novak drew a five-pitch walk to load the bases. Trimble swung at the first pitch he saw from Urfosky, which was sent over the fence in right-center field to give the Dukes the victory.
Game Notes
• Sunday was the eighth all-time meeting between the two programs. Cornell is now 3-5 all-time against James Madison, posting its first victory over the Dukes since March 16, 2014.
• Cornell hit three home runs for the first time since doing so against Brown in the 2022 regular season finale.
• Baker's six strikeouts matches his career high, previously accomplished on March 25, 2022, against Harvard.
• Davis' fifth-inning home run was the first of his collegiate career.
Looking Ahead
Cornell will head to Winston-Salem, N.C., next weekend for a trio of games that will be hosted by Wake Forest. The Big Red will play Ball State on Friday at 10 a.m. before squaring off against Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday at 4 p.m. The three-game series concludes on Sunday against nationally-ranked Wake Forest at 1 p.m.
Only the Sunday game against Wake Forest will have live video, with game action being broadcast on ACC Network Extra.
