He was not a prime candidate to conquer such a rare feat.

But this past Sunday, Travis Reifsnider did just that. The redshirt sophomore homered three times in James Madison’s win at VMI to become just the 11th player in the 2,499-game history of the Dukes’ program to slug three home runs in the same game.

“It just felt like I was on top of the world,” Reifsnider said by phone on Wednesday about the emotion he experienced trotting around the bases after his third big fly sailed over the left-field fence in the ninth inning.

“It felt like there wasn’t really much that could stop me at that point,” he said, “because it’s a feeling I haven’t had in a pretty long time as a baseball player. It was pretty much pure happiness.”

Especially considering only 24 hours earlier he was probably as frustrated as he’s ever been in a JMU uniform.

On Saturday against the same Keydets, Reifsnider went 0-for-6 and struck out five times, so he entered Sunday’s series finale batting just .176 for the campaign.

“Baseball is a hard game,” Reifsnider, a product of the Collegiate School in Richmond, said. “And it’ll kick you while your down and that’s kind of the day I had on Saturday. But, looking back, I got to see my parents on Saturday after the game and they were just saying, ‘You’ve worked hard for this your whole life. You’ve had bad days before, so it’s all about how you respond.’

“That was the similar message I got from [JMU assistant coach Alex Guerra] and [coach Marlin Ikenberry]. They said I had played really well all fall, all preseason and just to trust what I’ve been doing. I did and I guess it worked out in my favor.”

His parents, his coaches and his teammates were fair to expect Sunday to go better than Saturday did for Reifsnider, but no one would’ve imagined three home runs were on the horizon. After all, before Sunday, Reifsnider hadn’t homered ever in his college career, and even prolific power hitters can go their whole baseball lives without homering three times in the same game.

At the big-league level, 500 Home Run Club members Rafael Palmeiro, David Ortiz and Gary Sheffield never did it.

“After the second [homer], I had the thought in the back of my head,” Reifsnider said. “But I wasn’t even sure I would get another at-bat.”

His first homer, similar to his third, was an opposite-field blast sent over the left-field wall to lead off the fifth inning and give JMU a 6-4 lead. It was the first of back-to-back homers for the Dukes as Jensen Lapoint followed with a shot of his own.

Then in the sixth, Reifsnider, who was 3-for-5 with five RBIs and four runs scores in the series-taking win, launched one to deep right-center field, clearing the fence with ease for a two-run shot that pushed JMU to a 9-4 edge in a game the Dukes would win 12-7.

“If you were able to watch the film of my last at bat, the first swing I took definitely looks like I was trying to hit another one,” Reifsnider said with a laugh. “So I had to mentally reset after taking that big, big giant swing. I had to stick within myself and stay within the approach I’ve been having this whole season, preseason and fall, and then it just ended up working out. And I hit another one, which was definitely cool, so it was in the back of my mind, but I wouldn’t say I was trying for it.”

Reifsnider said even though he hadn’t yet homered prior to Sunday, he did spend the extended offseason trying to enhance his strength. He said he lifted weights six or seven times a week and tried to eat between 4,500 and 5,000 calories per day with a diet consisting mostly of eggs, steak, chicken and bread. His methods worked and he gained about 30 pounds between the time JMU dispersed after last spring’s abbreviated season and returning to campus in the fall.

“Ike and [the assistant coaches] were a little surprised for sure when I went from the really skinny scarecrow-looking kid to a more muscular-looking kid,” Reifsnider said.

He said he thinks he can continue to add power to his repertoire as he settles into his new role of playing every day. He was primarily used off the bench the last two seasons, but is part of the regular lineup now appearing as a catcher, first baseman and outfielder.

“I’m comfortable anywhere on the field at this point, and I just want to be in the lineup,” he said.