WILLIAMSBURG, Va. – A three-run eighth inning lifted James Madison past William & Mary in the rubber game of the three-game CAA slate on Sunday afternoon at Plumeri Park.
 
The Tribe scored once in the first and third innings to take a 2-0 lead. Matt Trehub drove home senior Zach Pearson with a first-inning fielder's choice, while rookie Jack Cone plated senior Kyle Wrighte in the third with a single to right field following Wrighte's triple of the left field wall to start the frame.
 
Freshman left-hander Zach Tsakounis was strong on the mound for the Green and Gold. He threw 6.2 innings, the longest outing of his career over 10 appearances and seven starts, while striking out seven and allowing just two runs.
 
JMU drew even with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings, including a David Willis' home run to left field that tied the game at two. In the eighth, pinch-hitter Kyle Novak blooped a single just inside the left-field line to score Trevon Dabney from second and give the visitor the lead. Brady Harju provided the big blow of the decisive eighth with a two-run double to left-center field.
 
W&M tried to rally with two outs in the ninth. Senior Hunter Smith launched his ninth home run to right-center field to close the gap to 5-3. The Green and Gold brought the tying run to the plate, but JMU's Brett Ayer registered his fourth strikeout of the game to end the Tribe's chances. Ayer picked up the win allowing just one run on one hit over the final three innings.
 
W&M Lineup – Cone CF, Pearson 3B, Smith DH, Trehub C, Lipke 1B, Hogarth RF, Angstadt LF, McDermott 2B, Wrighte SS, Tsakounis P
 
JMU Lineup – Dabney 3B, Semones SS, Brown DH, Harju 1B, Dipasupil 2B, Willis RF, Hayes C, Sigler LF, Griffin CF, William P
 
How It Happened
 - W&M pushed across a run in the first. Seniors Zach Pearson and Hunter Smith record back-to-back singles to left and Pearson came around to score on a Matthew Trehub fielder's choice. 
- Tsakounis got out of a jam in the third. Callaway Sigler picked up an infield single, moved up to second on a sac and around to third on a wild pitch. The Tribe rookie pitcher got JMU's leadoff hitter Trevon Dabney swinging on a strikeout to end the inning. 
- Senior Kyle Wrighte tripled off the left-center field wall on the second pitch of the third inning and scored on a Jack Cone RBI single to right field one batter later. It was Cone's third-straight game with an RBI.
- Sigler led off the sixth with a double to the right-center field gap. After moving up 90-feet on a sacrifice, he came home on a Fox Semonas bunt single. 
- With runners on first and second and just one out, Tsakounis struck out Harry Brown looking and got some help with a great defensive play. After coming on as a defensive sub in the frame, freshman Matt Thomas laid out to make a diving grab in right-center field on a sinking ball off the bat of Brady Harju to end the inning. 
- The Dukes' David Willis homered in the top of the seventh to knot the game at two. The freshman right field hit a towering drive off a 3-2 pitch over the left field wall for his third long ball of the year. 
- Dabney walked with one out in the eighth and came around to score after back-to-back singles. Pinch-hitter Kyle Novak dropped the second of those singles just inside the left-field line to give JMU the lead. Harju brought home the final two Dukes' runs of the frame with a double to left-center field. 
- The Tribe tried to rally with two out in the ninth. Senior Hunter Smith homered over the right-field wall to cut the gap to 5-3. Pinch-hitter Jason Waldman drew a walk to bring the tying run to the plate. Senior Colin Lipke worked the count full against Brett Ayer, but the JMU left-hander recorded the strikeout to end the game.
 
Notes
Senior Zach Pearson notched his team-leading 12th multi-hit game of the season … Senior Hunter Smith picked up his 11th multi-hit game of the season … Smith hit his ninth home run of the year, which ties his career high from last season … His nine HRs are tied for the CAA lead in 2019 …  Senior Kyle Wrighte's third-inning triple tied career-high with three on the year and was the seventh of his career … Freshman Zach Tsakounis pitched a career-high 6.2 innings … His seven strikeouts were the second-best total in his career … W&M grounded into a season-high three double plays … Freshman Jack Cone picked up an RBI in his third-straight game … He finished the weekend at 7-for-12 at the plate with three RBIs and three runs scored.
 
Up Next
The Tribe continues its home-stand with a mid-week rematch with George Washington on Wednesday, April 17. First pitch is set for 6 p.m. from Plumeri Park. Fans can catch the action on Tribe Athletics TV.