This was the kind of victory that they’re hoping can propel themselves forward.

“We all know we’re a club that can do big things,” James Madison reliever Donovan Burke said after the Dukes topped VMI 9-5 in non-conference action on Thursday at Veterans Memorial Park.

Burke, a redshirt freshman left-handed hurler, threw 3 1/3 scoreless, hitless frames while striking out five to earn the win.

“We can play for a long time and for more than however many games we have on the schedule,” Burke said. “We have a strong lineup. We have a strong bullpen and we’ll be able to do big things with the group we have. And tonight, we only scratched the surface, but we saw what we’re capable of.”

Said fourth-year junior right fielder Conor Hartigan: “I think once we get into a rhythm with hitters seeing enough pitching and get pitchers used to being on the mound, being able to throw strikes and get outs when we need it, I think a lot of people will see how good we are. I think we’re better than our 2-5 record, but they don’t hand out trophies in March.”

The Dukes (2-5) were swept in their season-opening series last month at Atlantic Coast Conference power North Carolina and then dropped two out of three contests in Harrisonburg last weekend to Bowling Green.

It wasn’t the start for a group that went 10-6 in a shortened season last year envisioned.

Both Burke and Hartigan said them and their teammates were eager to get back on track, beginning with the matchup against the Keydets (2-7). JMU and VMI will finish this three-game set in Lexington on Saturday and Sunday.

Dukes skipper Marlin Ikenberry said to aid his hitters while they settle into this new campaign, he emphasized the importance of putting pressure on the defense and playing small ball to accentuate one of his team’s strengths.

“Our team speed is a difference maker,” Ikenberry said. “And we’ve been talking about it all year. When you’re not swinging the bats well early in the game, you got to try to manufacture runs and that’s when we did such a good of job it.”

Hartigan scored the game’s opening run when he sprinted home all the way from second base on a grounder to the shortstop, who booted and couldn’t recover in time. Hartigan dove headfirst into home plate.

In the third inning, Fox Semones bunted for a single and then teamed up with Travis Reifsnider to pull off a double steal. The Dukes swiped six bases throughout the game on Thursday. Reifsnider scored on a fielder’s choice and Semones scored on Tre Dabney’s sacrifice bunt.

And after VMI evened the score in the fifth inning, JMU untied it with three runs in the sixth in spite of failing to hit the ball out of the infield during the turn at bat. Semones, who went 3-for-5 with three runs scored, bunted home a run and scored on Chase DeLauter’s infield single as part of the frame.

“We have a lot of guys that can run with above-average speed,” Hartigan said. “And I think we can utilize that a lot, and I think we did today. But I don’t think that it’s out of the ordinary for us to do that.”

The decision to play with that aggressive style served as the catalyst for the lineup while Burke’s effort shut down VMI. He entered with the score knotted 3-3 in the fifth with runners on first and third and two outs, and used a deceptive pickoff move to retire the Keydets’ Cole Jenkins off of first base.

Burke pumped his fist and yelled, ‘Let’s go!’ after escaping the jam.

He showed the same excitement when he struck out the side in the sixth inning.

“When it’s a close game, tie game like that and we were able to steal an out and then the next inning to get a strikeout to end it,” Burke said. “That [energy] was something that comes out of me naturally.”

From there, JMU rolled and eventually broke it open when DeLauter swatted a two-run opposite-field home run that sailed well beyond the fence in left-center field.

DeLauter was 3-for-5 with three hits including the homer to go along with four RBIs.

The towering blast was the finishing touch on a warmer-than-usual March afternoon to send the smattering of excited masked-up JMU fans home happy.

“We have a lot of guys who can hit for power, put barrel on balls and then run around the field,” Hartigan said. “So I think we’re starting to fall into our identity now and I think it’s taken us a little bit of time to find that identity. Pitchers throw strikes to keep us in game and we have our offense stay electric. I think we can win a lot of games down the road and hopefully make back some of those losses we had early on.”

Turner Ashby graduate Cody Warner was 2-for-4, scored a run and stole a base for VMI. He played left field.