HARRISONBURG — The top returning hitters in James Madison’s lineup provide a luxury for the club as it opens the 2019 campaign.

Between junior Fox Semones and sophomore Michael Morgan, the Dukes have two players who can combine to cover any of the eight positions on the field in a given game.

JMU starts its baseball season today with a doubleheader against Norfolk State as part of a three-game weekend series at Veterans Memorial Park. Game 1 of the twin bill is set for 2 p.m.

“It’s a good thing to have in our position player pool,” JMU coach Marlin Ikenberry said. “And now it’s just ironing out who’s going to play where when.”

Morgan, who led the team in hitting at .311 last year, can play catcher, first base or second base while Semones, who topped the Dukes with seven homers and a .460 slugging percentage in 2018, can play any of the three outfield spots, third base, shortstop or second base.

Both are likely to start each day this season even if they’re unsure of what position they’ll play.

“I don’t even know yet, man,” Semones said with a chuckle. “Every time I talk to the coaches, they’re like, ‘We don’t know where you’re going to play.’

“But it could be left. It could be second. Could be short. Could be center. It depends on the younger guys who have come in and where they fit in the lineup.”

Ikenberry said a few freshmen infielders — Nick Zona, Kyle Novak and Carson Bell — and Frederick Community College transfer first baseman Brady Harju are expected to see at least some immediate playing time. Three other position players are primarily locked into one spot as junior DaVonn Griffin is slated to patrol center field, sophomore Connor Hartigan fits best in one of the corner outfield positions and junior Kyle Hayes won the team’s starting catching job.

So wherever Ikenberry needs Semones or Morgan will probably change from game to game based on the opposing pitcher, which freshmen hit well enough to stay in JMU’s lineup and what player at a particular position needs a day off.

Morgan started mostly at first base last year, but can catch on days when Hayes needs to rest. Additionally, he worked at second base during the preseason in order to open playing time for Harju at first.

“We brought [Morgan] in as a catcher,” Ikenberry said, “And probably about this time last year, we said, ‘Let’s put him at first base and see how he does.’ He was very raw at it, but he’s matured beyond his years as far as a baseball mind.

“I think it comes from his older brother, Chad, who caught at Virginia Tech. And Mike’s got a sense of competitiveness to him, he likes to win and he’s not afraid of anything. So when you have a guy like that in your lineup, he just knows how to get the job done.”

Morgan said he’s ready to play anywhere to help JMU put the best team on the field each day, and Semones echoed that thought even though he said the middle infield is probably his favorite place on the diamond.

“I’m in the center of the field,” Semones said. “I can reach out to everyone on the field to communicate with them and the pitcher and I can relay it to the outfield also. That’s what makes it my favorite.”

Ikenberry said: “When I look at Fox, I think he can play all three outfield positions and can play three infield positions — second base, short and third — so we have to see how it evolves and where he lands.

“But he’s so good at second and so athletic in the outfield. His speed is game-changing speed and if we can get some guys to feel good in their positions, it allows us to do some more things with Fox.”

Turner Ashby graduate and James Madison sophomore pitcher Justin Showalter will be a mid-week starter for the Dukes, Ikenberry said.

“He’s gotten stronger, bigger and really refined his pitches,” Ikenberry said.

Showalter had a 7.24 earned-run average over 13 2/3 innings working out of the bullpen for JMU as a freshman last year, but bounced back to have a strong summer with the Staunton Braves in the Valley Baseball League. He was 3-1 with a 3.42 ERA over 42 innings with Staunton.

“Our strength coach worked with me all summer, all fall and I’ve made a lot of big strides in the weight room,” Showalter said, “which I think correlated to a higher velocity.

“And that was the idea of keeping me local in the summer, so I could workout with [JMU strength coach Robbie Ormsby] and still have access to all the facilities here, so I could focus on getting better on the field and in the weight room.”

Showalter said his fastball is sitting around 91 to 93 mph now whereas last year it was around 88 to 90 mph.

Earlier in the week, JMU coach Marlin Ikenberry announced his weekend rotation.

Junior right-hander Kevin Kelly (3-3, 3.74 ERA in 2018) will regularly throw on Fridays. Sophomore right-hander Nick Stewart (4-3, 2.86 ERA in 2018) will pitch on Saturdays and senior left-hander Joe Williams (did not pitch in 2018) is slated to throw on Sundays.