James Madison University’s baseball team defeated Marshall University 4-3 on May 1 in a Sun Belt Conference matchup at Veterans Memorial Park.
The win improves the Dukes’ record to 19-25 overall and 9-13 in conference play, while the Thundering Herd falls to 20-25 overall and 10-12 in the conference. The game was decided early, with James Madison scoring four runs in the first inning. Sophomore Reece Moody contributed three hits, including a double and a run scored, and increased his season stolen base total to 31.
Pitching played a key role for James Madison. Redshirt sophomore Holden McKinney pitched five innings—his longest outing of the season—to even his record at two wins and two losses. Senior Jaden Kinsler earned his second save of the year by retiring twelve consecutive batters after allowing an initial double, closing out four scoreless innings.
The first inning saw back-to-back doubles from Moody and junior Josiah Seguin before junior Ike Schmidly hit his tenth home run of the season. Senior Jack Guerrero added another run with a single up the middle. Marshall responded with runs in the second and sixth innings but could not overcome James Madison’s early lead.
According to team records, this was James Madison’s highest-scoring first inning since Feb. 21 against Le Moyne earlier this season. The victory also evens their record in one-run games at five wins and five losses. Kinsler’s performance marked James Madison’s first four-inning save since T.R. Williams achieved that feat against Marshall on May 6 last year.
The teams will meet again for the middle game of their series on May 2 at Veterans Memorial Park.
