April 15, 2006

Box Score

HARRISONBURG, Va. - Sophomore outfielder Kellen Kulbacki (Hershey, Pa./Hershey) crushed three home runs and became James Madison's all-time, single-season home run leader, highlighting the Dukes' 9-3 win against visiting George Mason Saturday in Colonial Athletic Association baseball at Long Field/Mauck Stadium.

Senior second baseman Michael Cowgill (Lexington, Ky./Henry Clay) led off the JMU first with his 17th homer of the season to pull into a tie with Kulbacki for the team lead. However, the tie was abruptly broken as Kulbacki followed with his school-record-tying 18th as the duo went back- to-back for the fifth time this season.

Kulbacki's record-breaker came in the fourth as he blasted a three-run shot to right that skipped off the southbound lane of Interstate 81 and landed in the median strip, giving JMU an 8-0 lead. The left-handed hitter tied a JMU single-game record when he hit an opposite-field solo shot to left in the seventh for this 20th round-tripper of the year. It was the sixth time a JMU player hit three homers in a single game.

JMU starter Travis Miller (Harrisburg, Pa./Central Dauphin) upped his record to 6-2 and ran his CAA shutout streak to 13 innings. He gave up just one hit, walked one, hit a batter and coaxed 14 groundouts.

Junior designated hitter Casey Slattery (Metairie, La./John Curtis Christian) broke up the shutout with his sixth homer of the season for the Patriots.

Sophomore catcher Jason Bour (Centreville, Va./Westfield) came off the bench to drive in a pair of runs, off a fielder's choice in the seventh and a single to center in the ninth. Freshman outfielder Scott Kreiger (Towson, Md./Calvert Hall) went 2-for-4 for the Patriots.

The Dukes upped their overall record to 24-12 and solidified their hold on second place in the CAA at 13-4. Mason slipped to 13-21 overall, 7-10 in CAA play.

Game three of the three-game series is Sunday (April 16) at 1 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on JMUSports.com Dukes Audio.