Townsend Takes Charge
April 30, 2009 • By Dan Lobdell, The Breeze
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HARRISONBURG, Va. — Matt Townsend’s redshirt junior season has featured one of the most impressive streaks in JMU history. Starting March 7, the right fielder began a consecutive games hitting streak that would reach 34 games, tying the record set by Mark Brockell in 1988.
“It’s sad to see the streak end,” sophomore Trevor Knight said. “But if you noticed, he’s already started up a new streak. So he took a break that one game and he’s right back in it now.”
1988 also happens to be the year the Hayfield graduate began playing the game he loves.
“It’s been part of my life, pretty much my whole life,” Townsend said. “I just enjoyed it all playing up, having fun and stuff. I just got real competitive and now carried it into college.”
His numbers this year are staggering, considering what little playing time he received his first three years on campus. But, then again, the 5-foot-9 native of Lorton has always been a slow starter.
“Well to be honest, I never even hit a home run until my sophomore year of high school,” Townsend said. “I didn’t know it was gonna take that long to hit one. But once I hit the first one, they kinda started coming a little bit.”
He would not have to wait quite as long to hit his first homer at Madison, as his first career homer came in an 11-6 win over Georgia State his freshman year. Still, he had hit only seven in his collegiate career coming into 2009.
That would change, however, as he is now second in the Colonial Athletic Association in homers this season with 16. Only George Mason senior Scott Krieger stands above him with 17. Unlike Townsend, Krieger has always displayed those numbers in his college career, hitting 49 heading into this year.
As a player, Townsend’s big break came at a tournament his sophomore year of high school, after which several National Collegiate Athletic Association coaches displayed interest.
“I always had confidence in myself,” he said. “Coaches really can’t talk to you until July 1, and I got a couple calls that year right on July 1. Madison actually didn’t start talking to me until a little bit later on that summer and I came down here, took a visit and I loved it. I committed right away.”
The junior’s career as a hitter almost never got off the ground, as he was a more successful pitcher in high school, when games are only seven innings long.
“My best high school memory was actually as a pitcher,” Townsend said. “It was a regional quarterfinal game and the game went into nine innings. I ended up pitching all nine innings and we ended up winning. During that run, we made it to states for the first time in school history.”
Even more crucial than his consistency, is his durability this year, as he is one of only three Dukes to start all 45 of the team’s games so far. It is by far the most he has started in his career, because he missed the last 20 games of his sophomore year and was forced to redshirt last year due to injuries.
“It’s been tough,” Townsend said. “It’s pretty much my first full season. As a freshman, I came in, I wasn’t an everyday starter. The last couple years I’ve battled season-ending injuries. This year, I’ve just tried to stay healthy, put together a full season. Good things have happened with hard work, a little bit of pre-hab.”
The pre-hab includes stretching and core training that he has dedicated himself to this season, and it’s showed, as he has been injury free. His injury last season kept him out of the school’s first-ever conference championship in baseball.
“It was actually kind of a freak accident on a check swing,” Townsend said. “Some ligaments in my left wrist just got strained and torn. I had to go in a cast for five or six weeks. When that was done, I had to rehab and by that time it was near the conference tournament. I felt like it wasn’t worth me risking a whole year with the team playing as well as they were doing.
“It made me hunger for this year to want to get back there and want to be a part of it,” Townsend said. “It was great seeing all my friends out there winning and it was great for the school, first one in school history. But at the same time, you want to be a part of it. It was kind of a bittersweet taste. I’m just trying to lead the team back there and repeat.”
Contact Dan Lobdell at breezesports@gmail.com
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