Softball Collects 26 Hits in Doubleheader Sweep Over UNCW

Saturday, April 6

Wilmington, N.C.

12:00 PM

James Madison University

25-9, 7-0

UNCW

11-20, 1-5

James Madison

UNCW

Softball Collects 26 Hits in Doubleheader Sweep Over UNCW

4/6/2013 9:00:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

HARRISONBURG, Va., April 6, 2013 – James Madison softball scored 23 runs on 26 hits on its way to a doubleheader sweep over UNCW at Boseman Field in Wilmington, N.C., on Saturday. JMU won the opener 12-1 in five innings and took the nightcap, 11-2.

The Dukes extended their winning streak in Colonial Athletic Association games to 12, including an 8-0 start to this season. They improved to 26-9 overall. UNCW dropped to 12-21 and 1-6 in league play.

Sophomore right-hander Heather Kiefer (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac Falls) earned the win in game two, improving to 9-4 on the season. She held the Seahawks to two runs, one earned, on four hits in six innings of work. The sophomore struck out four and did not walk a batter. Sophomore right-hander Miranda Kemp (Haymarket, Va./Battlefield (Iowa State)) allowed one hit and struck out one in an inning of shutout relief.

Casey Rowland drew the start for UNCW, taking the loss to drop to 8-9. She ceded 11 runs, seven earned, on 13 hits and a walk while striking out three. Jordyn Schmidt retired the only batter she faced in 1/3 inning of relief.

Freshman first baseman Jailyn Ford (Hot Springs, Va./Bath County) reached base four times to pace the Madison attack. She went 3-for-3 with a walk, three runs and two RBIs. Senior designated player Megan Shinaberry (Davie, Fla./McCarty) added two hits, two runs and a RBI while junior shortstop Caitlin Sandy (Fayetteville, N.C./Jack Britt) went 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Right fielder Olivia Poplin finished 2-for-3 with a double and a RBI and left fielder Morgan McCann went 1-for-3 with a RBI to lead the UNCW attack. Designated player KC Shue added a double in three at-bats while catcher Kimmie Stewart had the teams fifth, going 1-for-3 with a run scored.

JMU took a 2-0 lead in the top of the second, doing all of its damage with two outs. Sandy started the rally with a single up the middle and moved to third on a single to right by Shinaberry. The duo combined for a double steal to plate the first run, before a Seahawk fielding error allowed a second run to come home.

The first three JMU batters reached base in the top of the third to load the bases. After a ground-out, Ford launched a ball out to the fence in center. The wind carried the ball away from the UNCW center fielder and fell in for a single. Sophomore left fielder Morgan Heath (Yorktown, Va./Grafton) and senior center fielder Jasmine Butler (Winter Garden, Fla./West Orange) scored on the play before a UNCW throwing error allowed Ford and freshman catcher Erica Field (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) to add to more runs to the lead.

Wilmington cut into its deficit with a pair of runs in the bottom half of the inning. Stewart singled up the middle to lead off the frame and moved to second on a ground-out. A Madison fielding error put runners on the corners for Poplin who drove in the first run with a double to left-center. McCann followed by finding the grass just inside the right-field line for a RBI single to make it 6-2. before Kiefer erased the threat by inducing a doubl