Kulbacki Belts Three HRs for James Madions to Lead NCAA

For Immediate Release

April 17, 2006

HARRISONBURG, Va., April 15, 2006 – 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 before losing the shutout in the fifth. 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.
      Kulbacki, who began the week as the NCAA Division I leader in homers and slugging percentage, finished 3-for-4 and raised his batting average to .479, his slugging percentage to 1.028 and his RBI total to 57.

      The single-season homer record was first set in 1985 by Carey Nemeth. Two years ago current Cleveland farmhand Mike Butia tied the mark. Butia that spring actually hit 19 homers, but what was the original tying shot was washed out as it came in the early innings of a game that was called due to rain.
      Cowgill’s homer was also the 35th of his career, bringing him to within one of tying the JMU career mark. Lorenzo Bundy (1978-81), who currently is the interim manager for the AAA Pacific Coast League’s Tucson Sidewinders, and Eddie Kim (2000-03), who played in the Oakland farm system, each collected 36 in their careers.
      The Dukes upped their overall record to 24-14 and solidified their hold on second place in the CAA at 13-4. Mason slipped to 13-21 overall, 7-10 in CAA play.