JONESBORO, Ark. (3/26/23) – Kyler Carmack hurled his first career quality start, but James Madison plated five runs in the top of the 10^th inning to defeat the Arkansas State baseball team 9-4 in extra innings Sunday at Tomlinson Stadium-Kell Field.

A-State (7-14, 0-4 SBC) clawed back from a 4-1 deficit to tie it at 4-all in the eighth, then stranded the winning run at third in the ninth. JMU (14-9, 2-2) scored three of its five 10^th-inning runs with no outs to earn the extra-inning win. The Red Wolves stranded 14 runners on base.

Carmack allowed just one earned run on four hits in six innings as part of an A-State (7-14, 0-4 SBC) pitching staff that allowed just three earned runs on the day. Arlon Butts tossed a perfect seventh before handing off to Tyler Jeans (1-3), who struck out four in 2 2/3 innings before leaving in the 10^th. Jacob Conover worked the final out of the frame.

Wil French, Brandon Hager and Hunter Thomas tallied two hits apiece, as the Scarlet and Black rattled off 11 hits. Kyle Novak led JMU at the plate, going 3-for-4 with two runs scored. The Dukes recorded nine hits and led six on base.

The Red Wolves struck first in the third on a two-out solo homer by Hager, his second of the year, but the Dukes answered with four runs in the top of the fourth to give starter Ryan Murphy a 4-1 lead. Murphy struck out seven batters and allowed one run on five hits in five innings.

A-State pulled within two with an RBI single by Thomas, scoring Daedrick Cail to make it 4-2. JMU inserted Hunter Entsminger to start the eighth, but the Red Wolves touched the right-hander with a pair of two-out runs to tie it at 4. Jared Toler worked the count full in a pinch-hitting appearance before roping a single into center to score Nathan VerMaas. French followed on the next pitch, singling down the first-base line to plate Cross Jumper.

After Jeans retired the side in order in the ninth, a one-out walk, then a two-out error put runners at the corners, but a strikeout by Joe Vogatsky (1-0) ended the threat with the game-winning run 90 feet from the plate. Vogatsky pitched the final 2 1/3 innings for JMU, striking out five and giving up just two hits.

Five straight batters reached base in the 10^th for the Dukes, resulting in three runs before an out was recorded. A two-out single by Wyatt Peifer kept the inning alive and plated two more runs to end the scoring.

Jake Henry Williams tallied his first career hit in the bottom of the 10^th, then moved to second on an error with two outs, but Vogatsky ended the contest with a swinging strikeout.

NEXT UP

A-State plays its next five games on the road, beginning Tuesday at in-state foe Central Arkansas. First pitch from Bear Stadium is set for 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The radio broadcast can be heard on The Ticket Radio Network stations 95.3, 96.9 and 970 AM in Jonesboro, as well as online at 953theticket.com.

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