HARRISONBURG, Va. – The Lafayette baseball team split the final two games of its three-game series at James Madison on Sunday, beating the Dukes in game one, 9-6, and dropping the finale, 14-4, at Eagle Field.
 
In the first game, the Lafayette (1-5) bats erupted for 15 hits and nine runs, leaving 15 JMU (6-1) base runners stranded. Sophomore Ethan Stern was moved up to the leadoff spot in the order and got the Leopards out to an early lead with a two-run home run in the third inning.
 
Stern was 2-for-4 in the game with a double, two RBIs and two runs scored to go along with his first career long ball. Another big fly came off the bat of freshman Dylan Minghini who pinch hit in the ninth for his first career hit to give the Leopards a 9-6 lead that would hold.
 
While not having his best stuff, junior Mark Anderson gave a quality effort on the bump. He pitched 4.1 innings with four strikeouts and allowed two earned runs on only one hit, but walked seven.
 
The bullpen pieced it together including senior Jon Faraci and senior Andrew Marra. Faraci struck out three in two innings of work and allowed only one hit while Marra picked up the save with a pair of strikeouts in the ninth.
 
Junior Trey Durrah extended his hit streak in the second contest to five games when he hit his first home run of the season in the first inning. Durrah combined for three RBIs and a run scored on the day.
 
Freshman Justin Johnson put together a big day at the plate, going 3-for-4 in game one and 2-for-3 in game two, combining for a pair of runs and RBIs.
 
The Dukes jumped out to a commanding lead in the rubber match, scoring six runs in the second inning. Their pitchers combined for 14 strikeouts in game two to help keep the Lafayette bats at bay.
 
The road trip continues for the Leopards, as they will play a neutral site game against Rider on Tuesday at Diamond Nation in Flemington, New Jersey with first pitch scheduled for 3 p.m. before their weekend three-game series at North Carolina Central.
 

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