Diamond Dukes Garner CAA Honors

The Dukes, who started the season off with 3 straight losses, have rebounded to take their record to 5-4, including wins over Liberty (11-2) and Maryland (5-1) and went 2-1 in a series against Lafayette this past week. Outstanding performances in those games helped two of the Diamond Dukes to win CAA honors. JMU sophomore short stop David Herbeck was the CAA Co-Player of the Week:

Herbek, a short stop, continued his offensive onslaught, hitting .524 (11-for-21) while driving in 12 runs and scoring six. He hit two doubles, one triple, and one home run for an .857 slugging percentage and also had three walks and a hit by pitch for a .600 on-base percentage. Herbek’s week included the walk-off game-winning RBI in Saturday’s 10-9 win over Lafayette. That game also ran his career-long hitting streak to 14 games. He has also achieved multiple hits in eight of nine games this season.

Thus far in the CAA, Herbek ranks second in batting average (.514), first in hits (19), second in runs (10), first in doubles (5), first in triples (2), first in RBIs (15), first in total bases (34), second in on-base percentage (.571), and first in slugging percentage (.919). He also has two homers, four walks, and three stolen bases in three tries.

Sophomore pitcher Turner Phelps won the CAA Pitcher of the Week award this week after his performance in game one of Saturday's double-header:

Phelps turned in one of the strongest pitching performances of his brief career, striking out eight in a seven-inning, complete-game one-hitter against Lafayette, a 5-0 win. It was the second career complete game for the right hander to improve to 2-0 for the season and 10-0 in his career. A slow roller that barely made it halfway down the third-base line in the sixth inning was all that prevented Phelps from the ninth no-hitter in JMU history. In addition to his CAA honor, Phelps was also honored as a Pitcher of the Week by the website “Recruiting Closer.”

Through two weeks of action in the CAA, Phelps ranks first in wins (2), first in innings (13.1), first in strikeouts (17), first in complete games (1), first in shutouts (1), and third in opponent batting average (.140).

JMU had two games rained out early in the week, but will return to the diamond this weekend in a four-game series at Stetson.

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Diamond Dukes Win Home Opener, 11-2

After getting off to a rocky start in their first tournament of the year, going 1-3, the Dukes returned home to face the Liberty Flames. Junior pitcher David Edwards pitched the first 6 innings for the Dukes and didn't allow the Flames to heat up the bats on the chilly February afternoon. He allowed only two runs (one earned) and five hits in his six innings on the mound. Sophomore James Weiner pitched the final three innings for the Dukes allowing only two hits while striking out two. This was his third career save. The Dukes gave up zero runs in the last 6 innings of the game.

The Dukes' most consistent batter continues to be sophomore shortstop David Herbeck who has a 10-game hitting streak going, which is continued from last season. Even better, he has multiple hits in every game this year. David is hitting .524 (11-21) on the year with one home run, seven RBIs, and five runs scored. Eight of the nine JMU starters got hits in the game and the only one who didn't (junior center fielder Alex Foltz) was walked three times, hit by a pitch, and scored 2 runs. Redshirt junior Matt Townsend finished 2-5 with a home run (his second of the year), two RBIs, and two runs. Junior second baseman Mike Fabiaschi also added two hits and two runs of his own. JMU used the 8th inning to pull away and really put the game away scoring 4 runs. The Diamond Dukes return to Long Field/Mauck Stadium on Wednesday at 3pm to face the Maryland Terrapins!

Score by Innings                    R  H  E
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Liberty............. 101 000 000 -  2  7  1
James Madison....... 210 102 14X - 11 12  2
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