JMU SOFTBALL WELCOMES FOUR IN FALL SIGNING PERIOD

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HARRISONBURG, Va., Nov. 17, 2010 - James Madison softball head coach Katie Flynn announced the signing of four student athletes to national letters of intent to join the Dukes for the 2011-2012 academic year.

"This is definitely a special class of student-athletes," Flynn said. "They are the first who had the opportunity to walk through Veterans Memorial Park and watch the Dukes compete in our state-of-the-art indoor and outdoor facilities."

The four newly-signed Dukes include catcher/pitcher Sarah Mooney (Huntersville, N.C./North Mecklenburg), outfielder Haley Widner (Columbus, Ohio/Bishop Ready), pitcher Heather Kiefer (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac Falls) and outfielder Morgan Heath (Yorktown, Va./Yorktown).

Flynn added, "My observation from watching hours and hours of summer softball is that this is a group of tremendous and fierce competitors. We are excited to have them join us next fall. They are great athletes and very special people."

Mooney joins Madison from North Mecklenburg High School in North Carolina. She was named a National Fastpitch Coaches Association/Diamond Sports Catcher of the Year as well as a Louisville Slugger 2010 First Team All-American. In addition, she was a Gatorade Player of the Year nominee and North Carolina's 4A West Player of the Year. Mooney is a three-time all-conference, all-district, all-region and all-state selection. She has lead her team to the state's Elite 8 twice and the Sweet 16 once.

As a junior, the Huntersville, N.C. native hit .605 with 40 RBIs, 42 runs scored, 27 extra-base hits and 10 home runs. Defensively she threw out 15 of 30 would be base stealers and committed no errors in 209 chances.

"Sarah Mooney may be the best pure power hitter we have had in our program," Flynn said. "Certainly she is the first player we have recruited who can catch and pitch. She is very powerful and is a tough out offensively. As a catcher she is a leader and competitor on the field. She has the ability to pitch as well and throws extremely hard."

Kiefer competes for the Potomac Falls Panthers where she compiled a 0.49 ERA with 187 strikeouts, 18 complete games and eight shutouts. She is a three-time All-Dulles District selection and team MVP. She was an All-Met Honorable Mention and an ESPN RISE Player of the Week selection as a junior. Kiefer has broken Potomac Falls High School records in season ERA, season strikeouts, single game strikeouts and shutouts as well as career marks in wins, shutouts, strikeouts and ERA.

Flynn commented, "Heather Kiefer is a dominant power pitcher who is going to do great things here at JMU. We first had an opportunity to work with her in our Winter Softball Clinics and saw that she had tremendous potential. Two years later and Heather has played [Amateur Softball Association] Gold at the highest level with Wagner's Gold excelling on the mound against national caliber opponents. She can also hit for power. She is a legacy Duke as her dad just celebrated his 25th reunion."

Widner signed for the Dukes out of Bishop Ready High