It was career win No. 500 for James Madison head coach Marlin Ikenberry, and his team did it in commanding fashion. In yet another elimination game, the Dukes dismantled Old Dominion in the Sun Belt Tournament, winning 15-5 in just eight innings.
“It’s about my staff and the players I’ve had in the past,” Ikenberry said. “Wow, I didn’t know that, so that kind of takes me back a little bit. You know, I’ll say this, I wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for Chris Finwood, and so having to coach against him and what he did for me as a player .
.. He is the whole reason why I’m sitting here.
So, man, pretty special.” JMU got off to a hot start, scoring five runs in the opening two innings of play. Most of the Dukes’ scoring against the Monarchs came off strong situational hitting.
Ten of JMU’s 15 runs came off a single, while another was scored after a fielding error on a single. JMU’s Fenwick Trimble had his best game of the Sun Belt Tournament, knocking in a game-high four runs by way of four singles. Trimble’s third RBI single came with the bases loaded and two outs during the sixth inning.
Trimble led all hitters at the plate, finishing 4-for-5 and scoring a pair of runs himself. The Dukes batted well throughout the game, but managed to do significant damage when the Monarchs were just an out away from escaping an inning. JMU’s three runs in the opening frame were all scored with a pair of outs on the board.
JMU finished the game batting 8-for-1.
