Posted on March 27, 2008
The brisk wind swirling around Mauck Stadium was not the only thing that stung as the JMU baseball team hosted Virginia Tech on Tuesday. The Dukes gave up 19 hits en route to an 18-11 loss to the Hokies.
“I felt like we were ready to go, but it was just one of those days,” JMU junior right fielder Brett Sellers said. “I think we just need to get back to work on the basics.”
The Hokies snapped a 12-game losing streak as JMU committed three errors and grounded into five double plays. Madison (16-7) remains in second place in the CAA, but Tuesday’s loss comes in the wake of dropping three out of four games at Old Dominion last weekend. Despite their recent struggles, the Dukes remain upbeat.
“We got our [butts] handed to us, but we got a new day and new team tomorrow,” JMU coach Spanky McFarland said.
Madison cut the lead to 12-11 in the eighth inning with a Brett Garner RBI sacrifice fly, but that was the closest the Dukes came. Led by second baseman Matt Hacker’s two RBI, Virginia Tech scored six runs in the top of the ninth inning to close out the game.
Both pitching units struggled in thegame that had a combined 29 runs and 34 hits. JMU starter John Mincone gave up six runs in three innings. All four JMU pitchers who made an appearance gave up at least three runs.
Sellers, a right fielder, continued to lead JMU offensively. He leads the Dukes with a .474 average and eight home runs through Tuesday’s game. He kept up his hot pace by knocking out two home runs and adding three RBI against the Hokies.
“The key [to my hitting] is that I’m not thinking about my stats and I’m just trying to come out with the same approach every day,” Sellers said.
As JMU travels to Hofstra for a weekend series, they must refocus to stay in the conference title hunt.
“You are going to go through good times and bad times, but the key is to stay together and weather the storm,” McFarland said. “Unlike football where you have a week to think about a loss, we get to play the next day.”
On Wednesday, JMU defeated VMI 8-4 to improve to 16-7. Sophomore first baseman Steve Caseres went 4-4 and hit two home runs.
