March 4, 2012
Box Score
HARRISONBURG, Va. - For the straight second game, a rally by the Lafayette baseball team was upstaged by a walk-off winner from host James Madison. The Leopards erased a 5-0 deficit this afternoon in Harrisonburg, but the Dukes plated two in the bottom of the ninth to saddle the visitors with a 7-5 loss.
With their fourth consecutive defeat, the Leopards fall to 2-5. James Madison completes the three-game sweep on its home field to move to 5-5-1.
Derek Gussaroff entered a tie ballgame and allowed just two baserunners (one hit, one walk) in 3+ innings of work out of the Leopards' bullpen. However, one of those baserunners turned into the game-winning run as the junior right-hander was saddled with the hard-luck loss to fall to 1-1.
Southpaw Connor Ortolf started on the mound for Lafayette. Ortolf allowed just two earned runs on four hits over the first five innings. He struck out one batter and did not issue a walk.
Chris Huffman (1-0) worked three scoreless innings of relief for the Dukes to earn the win. Evan Scott started for the home team and allowed one earned run on five hits in 5.1 innings. He struck out seven Leopards and walked two.
Andrew Ruck delivered the biggest blow for the Leopards' offense with a pinch-hit, three-run home run to tie the game at 5-5 in his only plate appearance in the sixth inning. Brian Davila also homered in the sixth frame as a part of a two-hit day. Brad Hopek went 3-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base. Thomas Dunleavy doubled and singled in his first start of the spring, and Kevin Casey added a double in the five-run sixth inning to extend his hitting streak to six games.
After both teams went down in order in the first frame, the Dukes struck in the bottom of the second inning. Bradley Shaban led off with a double, moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and raced home on a wild pitch with the game's first run.
A Ryan Kilmon home run ran the James Madison lead to 2-0 in the third and, after an error extended the inning, a two-run shot by Conner Brown pushed a pair of unearned tallies across to put the Dukes on top, 4-0.
Lafayette's first scoring chance came in the top of the fourth inning. Bobby Fargnoli started the two-out rally with a walk, and Hopek followed with a single, but Scott Kelleher's well-hit ball to centerfield was caught on a line to quell the threat.
The Dukes played a bit of small ball to add another unearned run in the bottom of the stanza when Chad Carroll singled, took second on a passed ball and then moved the final 180 feet on a pair of groundouts to push the James Madison advantage to 5-0.
After Ortolf pitched a perfect fifth inning, Davila led off the top of the sixth with a roundtripper to put the Leopards on the board. Casey followed with a two-bagger, and Hopek greeted left-handed reliever Patrick Arnold with a single to put runners on the corners with one out. Hopek promptly stole second base and, when the catcher's throw sailed into centerfield, Casey came home with the Leopards' second run of the inning. Kelleher then drew a walk and, after the Dukes brought in right-hander Ben Garner, Lafayette called upon Ruck to pinch-hit. The junior right-hander sent the 1-0 pitch over the right field wall for a three-run bomb that tied the score at 5-5.
The deadlock held up into the ninth inning, courtesy of three hitless innings of relief work by Gussaroff. The Leopards threatened in their half of the frame with a one-out double by Dunleavy, but the Lafayette catcher would be left stranded by the Dukes' Huffman.
Brown, who had the game-tying hit for James Madison in yesterday's game, led off the bottom of the inning with a double - the only hit surrendered by Gussaroff. The Leopards went back to the bullpen and brought in Sean McGrath, but the southpaw allowed a walk-off homer to Shaban, the first batter he faced, as the Dukes escaped with a 7-5 victory.
The Leopards open up their home slate on Tuesday, March 6 with a 3 p.m. game against Rider. Lafayette returns to Kamine Stadium on Friday, March 9 at 2:30 p.m. for a contest with Fairleigh Dickinson. The Leopards then head to Teaneck, N.J. for a doubleheader against the Knights on Saturday, March 10 beginning at noon.
