HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison baseball junior Kyle Langley put the second pitch he saw in the bottom of the ninth into the right field gap for a double to walk off Georgia Southern, 3-2, on Friday evening and give the Dukes a series win at Veterans Memorial Park.
The Dukes improved to 9-8 overall and are 2-0 in conference play for the first time since 2022, their last season in the CAA. The Eagles fell to 5-13 overall and 0-2 in Sun Belt Conference action.
Langley was one of three Dukes who recorded multiple hits, joining senior Jack Guerrero and redshirt sophomore Clay Thompson. The trio combined to go 6-for-11 with two doubles, a run scored and all three RBI.
Redshirt sophomore Luke McGrath earned his first career win, pitching a career-high-tying 1.2 innings and only surrendering one hit.
How It Happened
First Inning
Three batters into the game, the Eagles took a 1-0 lead on a single from Jack Myers with a runner on second base.
Fourth Inning
GS doubled its lead on another single with a runner on second, making the score 2-0.
Sixth Inning
Thompson put JMU on the scoreboard in a big way, connecting on a two-run single with bases loaded to tie the game at two.
Ninth Inning
Freshman Ryan Gocio led off the inning with an infield single, before being pinch ran for by classmate Will Haacke. Sophomore Jack Anderson then bunted Haacke to second to set up Langley to double him in for the winning run on an 0-1 pitch.
Game Notes
• JMU earns its first walk-off win since walking off George Mason on April 1 last season.
• Kyle Langley has JMU’s first walk-off hit since Mason Dunaway walked off Niagara with a single on March 12, 2024.
• The win is the fifth this season to see the Dukes come back from trailing at some point in the game.
• JMU put the leadoff hitter on base in six of the nine innings.
• For the first time in eight games, the Dukes were held without a home run.
Up Next
The Dukes go for their first conference-opening series sweep since 2013 when they face GS at 1 p.m. tomorrow, March 15.
— JMU Athletics —
