Pitchers, Long Balls Guide Softball to Doubleheader Sweep over Towson

Saturday, March 23

Towson, Md

12:00 PM

James Madison University

19-7, 1-0

Towson

15-15-1, 0-1

James Madison

Towson

Pitchers, Long Balls Guide Softball to Doubleheader Sweep over Towson

3/23/2013 8:20:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

TOWSON, Md., March 23, 2013 – Sophomore right-hander Heather Kiefer (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac Falls) and freshman left-hander Jailyn Ford (Hot Springs, Va./Bath County) combined to limit opposing hitters to three hits and just one earned run over 14 innings of work to guide the James Madison softball team to a pair of wins over Towson on the opening day of Colonial Athletic Association play, Saturday. JMU won game one 5-2 before shutting out TU, 6-0, in game two.

The Dukes have won four straight and 11 of their last 12 to improve to 20-7 overall and 2-0 in the CAA. Towson has lost four of five, dropping to 15-16-1 on the year and 0-2 in league play.

In addition to a pair of dominating performances in the circle, JMU hit four home runs on the day and finished with five extra-base hits. Sophomore left fielder Morgan Heath (Yorktown, Va./Grafton) paced the Madison attack with two solo homers, adding four RBIs.

Kiefer tossed her second consecutive shutout for the Dukes in game two, improving to 7-3 on the season. The sophomore pitcher has won five straight decisions and given up just one earned run in her last 29 1/3 innings pitched.

Ford was nearly as good in game one, tying her own school record with 16 strikeouts in a complete-game effort.

In the nightcap, Kiefer limited Towson to one hit and a walk while striking out two in seven innings of work. The reigning CAA Rookie of the Year retired the last 18 hitters she faced, retiring the Tigers in order in each of the last five innings. No Tiger base runner advanced beyond first base in the game.

She out-dueled Missy McCormick who took the loss to drop to 5-6. McCormick gave up six runs, four earned, on 11 hits and a walk, adding a strikeout in seven innings pitched.

Freshman catcher Erica Field (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) reached base three times, going 3-for-4 with a double, two runs scored and a RBI while sophomore right fielder Sarah Mooney (Huntersville, N.C./North Mecklenburg) contributed two hits and an RBI. Heath homered in four at-bats and senior center fielder Jasmine Butler (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) went 2-for-4 with a run scored and a stolen base.

TU's catcher Jillian Donnelly recorded the only hit of the day for her team with a single to lead off the second. Left fielder Kelli Lyons reached base with a walk in two at-bats, but was cut down trying to steal in the bottom of the first.

The Dukes struck for a pair of runs in the top of the first to take an early lead on the Tigers. Butler ignited the inning with a bunt single and came all the way around to score on a double in the gap by Field. The rookie catcher moved up to third on the throw home and scored on a single to left by Mooney.

With her single in the first, Butler became just the third player in school history to record 200 hits in her career. She joins Ashley Burnham (2009-12) and Katie George (2004-07) as the only pl