ELON, N.C. – George Kirby threw his second complete game of the season as Elon University baseball topped James Madison 3-1 Saturday, March 30 at Latham Park to win the CAA series.
The Rye, N.Y. native retired 14 batters in a row and fanned eight JMU batters to improve to 5-0 on the season. He allowed the one unearned run on four hits and did not issue a walk.
Tyler Stanley hit 1-for-2 with a triple, a run, and a stolen base. Jarrett Pico and Ty Adcock both finished 1-for-3, and Joe Satterfield had Elon’s other hit as he went 1-for-4 with an RBI.
How It Happened: The Phoenix (15-12, 4-1 CAA) struck first with a run in the first inning. Anthony Galason reached on an error by the second baseman and Galason followed with a walk. A Satterfield fielder’s choice then placed runners on the corners before Cam Devanney hit a ball deep enough to right the sac-fly RBI.
Elon added to its total with a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the third. Stanley led off with a triple and Galason was hit by a pitch to again put runners on the corners. The maroon and gold then benefited from a wild pitch as Stanley came home. Galason moved up to second on the play and came around on a Satterfield single to the gap in right.
The Dukes (18-10, 2-3) finally manufactured a run in the fourth. After a pair of singles, it looked like Elon would turn the 6-4-3 double play, but Satterfield muffed the throw from Adam Spurlin. A sac fly to center then gave JMU its only tally of the afternoon. Both teams then combined for five scoreless innings to close out the game.
Notes: The complete game marked the second of the month for Kirby. He also threw a complete game, one-hit shutout in Elon’s 1-0 win over Bryant back on March 10…It was the fifth time this season and the fourth time in his last six outings that Kirby hasn’t walked an opposing batter…Stanley’s three-bagger was his second of the season. The Shallotte, N.C. product tripled against Lafayette on Feb. 16…With his swiped bag in the fifth, Stanley improved to 16-of-17 on stolen base attempts this season…AGalason has reached safely in 25 consecutive games while Satterfield has reached in 22…This marks the fifth consecutive season Elon has earned the series win versus the Dukes. The maroon and gold now holds a 13-3 advantage in the all-time series…Elon has now won 5-of-6 weekend series this season.
On Deck: Elon and James Madison wrap up the CAA series with a 1:30 p.m. finale tomorrow at Latham Park.