JMU seemed to taking batting practice during the middle of a game Wednesday afternoon as the Dukes obliterated the Liberty Flames, 21-4.
“We’re not as good as that score and they’re not as bad as that score,” said head coach Spanky McFarland. “It’s just one of those things. It kind of got ugly.”
The bats started early and no one could save Liberty pitchers. It was an ideal baseball game for JMU as both bats and arms were on point.
Freshman Michael Church got the nod to start on Wednesday for JMU. It was his fourth start and eighth appearance on the year. Church went three and two-thirds innings, giving up no runs on three hits.
Due to NCAA rules, if a team declares that a game will be a staff day (using a lot of players throughout a game), a starting pitcher may earn the victory without throwing the traditional standard of five innings. Under these rules, Church was credited with the win, his third. A quartet of bullpen relief prevented much of any Liberty damage.
“I hadn’t pitched in a week and I brought my ‘A’ game, basically,” Church said. “My curveball was looking good, and it worked out for me.”
Sophomore Chad Carroll, who has found his new home in left field, has been on his own self-promoted hit parade this season. Against Liberty, Carroll started off with a homer and then followed that up with a base on balls, single and a triple. He finished a double shy of the coveted cycle.
“[I was] just seeing it pretty well. I felt good,” Carroll said. “Just consistent work in the cage and at practice has really paid off.”
Carroll finished the day three for five, with five RBIs and five runs scored. Both are also career highs.
The former JMU shortstop is batting a team high .431 after Wednesday and leads the nation with six triples.
“I feel comfortable out there,” he said. “Whatever helps the team do well, I’m all for it.”
A plethora of JMU batting categories rank nationally in the weekly NCAA statistics release. As of Monday, batting average (.323), scoring (8.4/game), runs (205), triples (17), slugging percentage (.470) and on-base percentage (.412) all rank in the top 11 in the nation.
Fourteen batters stepped to the plate for JMU Wednesday, and 12 reached base in some manor. The Dukes’ offensive explosion was out of control. JMU compiled its 21 runs on 19 hits. Both numbers were season-highs for the Dukes.
“Rather than ease up, we just get other kids to play so they can still play hard,” McFarland said of the large lead.
Liberty sent a total of 11 pitchers to the mound on Wednesday. Prior to Liberty, JMU hadn’t faced more than six pitchers.
“With young pitchers, you never know what you’re going to get,” McFarland said. “All mid-week games are adjustment days.”
Three hitting streaks were extended Wednesday. Carroll and seniors Johnny Bladel and Cole McInturff added to their double-digit totals — 11, 13 and 15 games, respectively.
The Dukes (13-9, 6-2 CAA) are on a roll as of late. JMU will ship up to Boston this weekend for a three-game conference series with Northeastern. The Huskies (12-11, 2-7 CAA) have yet to win a conference series this season.
“It was a good game. It was a fun game,” McFarland said. “A lot of guys got in and got hits, but don’t read too much into it. It’s just a game that got out of hand, but I’d rather it get out of hand for us.”
Contact Stephen Proffitt at proffijs@dukes.jmu.edu.
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