The James Madison Dukes are in the midst of a four-game losing streak and will welcome the App State Mountaineers to town for another Sun Belt Conference series.
After an extra-inning victory over Virginia, the Dukes hit the road and were swept by the Georgia State Panthers. In Game One of the series, James Madison jumped out to a 5-0 lead before giving up 10 unanswered runs in a 10-5 loss. The second game was a 10-0 blowout that ended in the eighth inning, and the series finale was a competitive 5-4 loss.
The Dukes returned home only to get beaten by Richmond 10-2, as they recorded six home runs. Richmond got three runs in the first inning on two home runs. JMU got two runs after a two-run single from Keegan Haesler.
Richmond got two more home runs in the second inning to advance the score to 6-2. Richmond would score four more runs over the rest of the game for the 10-2 victory, dominating from start to finish.
James Madison wasn’t able to get anything going from the dugout, as they recorded five hits and were struck out seven times. This was a continuation of how the season has gone for James Madison, as they haven’t been an effective hitting team all season.
While JMU enters this game on a losing streak, App State has been an up-and-down team throughout the season.
App State is coming off a 14-4 loss to Western California, after defeating ULM 2-1 in the previous series. This was the second loss to Western California this season.
The game began with Western California scoring three runs in the first, and App State scored twice in the second inning to trim the deficit to 3-2. The bottom of the third inning was the turning point of the game as Western California recorded 10 runs, with three home runs and multiple errors to take a 13-2 lead, before winning 14-4.
App State has been one of the most efficient hitting teams in the Sun Belt, but just weren’t able to get anything going from the plate, as they recorded five hits in the game, while being at bat 25 times. App State sits at first in batting average and on-base percentage and fifth in slugging percentage.
Steven Smith has been one of the most efficient hitters in the Sun Belt with a slash line of .395/.455/.621. His .395 batting average is first in the conference, with his on-base and slugging percentage both sitting in the top 15.
The slide that James Madison is on has seen their record fall to 16-19 and 6-9 in conference. App State has the better overall record at 19-16 and the better conference record at 7-8. Both teams are trying to make a jump in the standings.
Game 1 begins on Friday in Harrisonburg at 6 p.m. ET.
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