HARRISONBURG, Va. – Luke Waters was the hero on Friday night, his two RBI double in the top of the 12th inning lifted Old Dominion Baseball to a 6-4 victory over James Madison in the TowneBank Royal Rivalry series opener.
Tied at 4-4 through four innings, neither side could manufacture another run despite both teams putting runners in scoring position multiple times.
The Monarchs (19-26, 13-12 Sun Belt) finally broke through with two outs in the 12th. After Kainen Jorge walked and stole second, JMU elected to intentionally walk Scotty Young. But that move would backfire for the Dukes (15-35, 8-17) as Waters smacked a 2-0 pitch to the wall in left center. Ethan Hubbell then retired the side in order, striking out a pair, to end the game.
Hubbell, a junior from Camas, Washington, earned his first win as a Monarch and improved to 1-2. He gave up just two hits and issued one walk while striking out three in three shutout innings in relief.
JMU tested the right hander in the 10th as Jack Guerrero singled to short, moved up to second on a sacrifice bunt, and took third on a wild pitch. Guerrero was left stranded though as Tyler Zedalis fielded a ground ball and stepped on first for the third out.
The hosts applied pressure again in the 11th as Coleman Calabrese drew a one-out walk and Wyatt Peifer singled through the right side. Piefer was then erased at second as Reece Moody reached on a fielder’s choice before stealing second. Hubbell again got out of the jam though as he caught Jack Anderson looking at a called third strike.
Ben Moore went six innings and gave up four runs, though only two of them were earned. He allowed eight hits with two walks while recording two strikeouts. Bailey Matela, Alex Hunt and Kellen Davis also helped keep JMU in check, combining for three shutout innings as well.
Waters finished the night 3-for-6 with the double, two RBIs and one base on balls. Jorge went 2-for-4 with his seventh long ball of the year, adding two runs, three walks and one stolen base to his totals. Edwards turned in a 2-for-4 effort with one run and two walks, and Aiken contributed a 1-for-5 performance with a walk and his fifth homer of the season.
JMU opened up the scoring with two runs in the bottom of the first. An ODU throwing error allowed Kyle Langley to reach. He advanced on a Ryan Dooley ground out to second and then scored on a Calabrese base hit to right field. A sac bunt by Peifer and a Moody hit back up the middle gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead.
ODU got a run back in the third as Kainen Jorge hit a solo home run to right center. The Monarchs then jumped ahead 4-2 with three runs in the top of the fourth. TJ Aiken knotted the game at 2-2 with a solo shot to center field. Kyle Edwards followed with a single up the middle, Tahraun Hammond was hit by a pitch, and Evan Holman moved them into scoring position with a sac bunt. JMU’s catcher, Jack Cannizzaro, attempted a snap throw to third base, but the ball sailed down the line into foul territory and the error allowed both Edwards and Hammond to score.
JMU answered right back though in their next turn at the plate. Peifer led off with a hit through the right side, Moody legged out a bunt single, and Cannizzaro tied the game at 4-4 with a two RBI double to the gap in right.
Game Two in the series is scheduled for a 4 p.m. start on Saturday.