CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – James Madison baseball scored eight runs across the final three innings after trailing early, but the comeback bid fell a run short, 9-8, against No. 21 Virginia on Wednesday evening at Disharoon Park in non-conference action.

The Dukes dropped to 24-20 while the Cavaliers improved to 37-11.

Redshirt senior Kyle Novak led the way at the plate for JMU, going 3-for-5 with a double, a run scored and two RBI’s.

Connelly Early improved to 9-1 for Virginia as he earned the win behind six scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

How It Happened
First Inning
The Cavaliers struck first with a pair of runs on a wild pitch and an infield single to take an early lead.

Second Inning
A four-run inning for the Hoos extended the lead to 6-0. After a groundout scored the first run of the inning, the hosts used three straight hits to knock in a run each time.

Fifth Inning
After a one-out double and a wild pitch put a runner on third for UVA, a triple from Casey Saucke scored a run before scoring himself on a wild pitch to make it 8-0.

Seventh Inning
The Dukes got on the board with three runs after redshirt senior Trevon Dabney led off by being hit by a pitch for the 67th time of his career before scoring all the way from first on a double from Novak. Novak then scored to make it 8-2 after sophomore Jason Schiavone singled through the right side of the infield. Graduate Jack Cone knocked in the final run of the frame on a sacrifice fly.

Virginia responded with a run in the home half of the inning on a sacrifice fly to make it 9-3.

Eighth Inning
JMU got the run back in the next frame, using Novak’s third hit of the game to score sophomore Fenwick Trimble and make it 9-4. Schiavone then made it a three-run game with his eighth long ball of the season to score Novak and change the score to 9-6.

Ninth Inning
Leading off the inning, freshman Wyatt Peifer was hit by a pitch. He then moved to third as Cone reached on an infield single and moved to second on a throwing error. Peifer then scored on a wild pitch before redshirt junior Mason Dunaway grounded out to score Cone and make it a one-run game at 9-8. Back-to-back walks put the tying and go ahead runs on base for the Dukes but back-to-back fly outs, including one to the left center field wall, ended the game.

Game Notes
• The eight runs scored against Virginia are the most for the Dukes since scoring eight runs on April 24, 2013.

Up Next
The eight-game road trip for the Dukes concludes with a three-game set against Marshall in Charleston, W.Va. on May 5-7. Friday’s opener is set for 6 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —