Brooke Point graduate makes his pitch at JMU

Last spring Jason Kuhn was injured and drove on his own to North Carolina to watch his James Madison University teammates in the Colonial Athletic Association baseball tournament.

This May the Stafford resident expects to be in the bullpen as a main contributor as the Dukes aim for a second straight title in the CAA.

"It is a great feeling to contribute to the team," said Kuhn, a redshirt junior pitcher for the Dukes. "Last year we weren't expected to win. This year we have a target on our backs. They want to beat us badly. We can't slack off."

JMU lost two players to the Major League Baseball draft after last season but Kuhn, a Brooke Point High School graduate, feels the heavy-hitting Dukes are still a threat in the CAA. "We have our core team back," he said. "We are a cohesive unit. We know what we can do."

In games through April 28, Kuhn was 0-0 with an ERA of 7.04 in 14 games out of the pen. In 23 innings Kuhn allowed 26 hits (five homers), nine walks with 17 strikeouts.

JMU head coach Spanky McFarland, who has coached 11 future Major League pitchers during his coaching career, said Kuhn has been healthy the entire season this spring.

"He is very consistent," McFarland said of the lefty whose fastball tops out at around 84 miles per hour. "He is pretty reliable. He is not a strikeout guy."

JMU was 11-7 in CAA games through April 30, good for second-place back of George Mason. The top six teams advance to the league tourney that begins May 20 in Wilmington, N.C. Last year Kuhn was 1-0 with an ERA of 7.07 in 10 games out of the bullpen. He allowed 14 hits in 14 innings with 10 strikeouts and just one walk.

Kuhn was up his first college win against George Washington and in one stretch retired 21 batters in a row to earn pitcher of the week honors in the CAA. But he missed the second part of the season with an arm injury as the Dukes won their first CAA tourney title. JMU advanced to the NCAA tournament and lost to North Carolina State, beat Charlotte and lost to South Carolina in the double-elimination Raleigh Regional.

Kuhn was a three-year letter winner for Brooke Point and played for head coach Brian Mays. He was the team's most valuable player as a senior. He missed the 2007 JMU season but pitched that summer for the Herndon Braves in the Cal Ripken Sr. Collegiate Baseball League, where he led the league in ERA at 0.81 in 15 games.

Kuhn, a history major, plans to pitch again this summer for Herndon. But first he hopes to help JMU win another CAA crown.

"It has been great. This is the longest I have ever played in a (college) season," he said. "I am ready to go to the tournament and pitch."

David Driver is a contributing writer for The Stafford County Sun. He can be reached at info@staffordcountysun.com.