James Madison University lost to No. 16 Coastal Carolina, 16-6, in a Sun Belt Conference baseball game on March 22 at Spring Brooks Stadium.
The loss brings the Dukes’ record to 11-11 overall and 3-3 in conference play, while the Chanticleers improved to 16-7 overall and remain undefeated at 6-0 in the Sun Belt.
James Madison started strong with a four-run lead, highlighted by back-to-back singles from Wyatt Campbell and Jack Anderson in the second inning. In the third inning, Jack Cannizzaro hit a double that brought in two more runs for JMU. However, Coastal Carolina responded by sending 11 batters to the plate and scoring seven runs to take a lead they would not relinquish.
In the fourth inning, Reece Moody narrowed the gap with a two-run double after hits from Kyle Langley and Ike Schmidly. The Chanticleers answered with a two-run home run by Rex Watson. Coastal Carolina continued their offensive surge in the fifth and sixth innings, eventually ending the game after seven innings due to their ten-run advantage.
All nine starting batters for James Madison recorded hits during the game. The team batted .571 with runners on base and .545 with runners in scoring position.
The Dukes will return home to host Radford on Tuesday, March 24 before traveling to face Arkansas State over the weekend.
