Softball Splits CAA Doubleheader at Drexel

Saturday, April 12

Philadelphia, Pa.

11 a.m.

James Madison University

28-13, 7-3

Drexel

15-15, 3-4

James Madison

Drexel

4/12/2014 8:17:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

PHILADELPHIA, Pa., April 12, 2014 – Sophomore pitcher/designated player Jailyn Ford (Hot Springs, Va./Bath County) smacked a pair of home runs and junior pitcher Heather Kiefer (Potomac Falls, Va./Potomac Falls) earned her 14th win of the season in leading the James Madison softball team to a doubleheader split with Drexel in Philadelphia, Pa., Saturday. Drexel rallied in game one to pick up the 7-6 win before JMU bounced back for a 7-3 win in game two.

The Dukes reached the 30-win plateau for the third straight season, improving to 30-13 on the year and 8-3 in the CAA. Drexel improved to 15-16 and 3-5 in the league with the split.

In game two, Kiefer earned the win after limiting the Dragons to one earned run in a complete-game effort. The-right-hander allowed three total runs on six hits. She struck out three and did not walk a batter.

Rose Portiolli took the loss for Drexel to fall to 0-3. She ceded three runs on six hits in four innings of work. Taylor Lee gave up four runs on five hits and two walks in two innings of relief while Shelby Taylor finished off the game with a scoreless inning of relief.

Offensively, Madison was paced by freshman third baseman Madyson Moran (Taylor Mill, Ky./Holy Cross) who went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a run and a RBI. Fellow rookie center fielder Niki Prince (Ashburn, Va./Stone Bridge) added two hits, including a double, a walk and two runs while sophomore catcher Erica Field (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) went 2-for-4 with two runs batted in.

Six players recorded hits for DU, paced by designated player Maddison Timoteo who went 1-for-2 with a run and a RBI. First baseman Ellen Scott was 1-for-3 with a RBI and shortstop Baeley Reed had a hit and a RBI in three trips to the plate.

The Dukes opened the scoring with a run in the top of the first as Prince led off the frame with a double to left-center. She moved to third and scored on consecutive ground-outs.

A JMU fielding error helped Drexel even the score in the bottom of the second. Timoteo started the rally with a single down the left-field line. The next batter dropped down a sacrifice bunt, but the JMU fielder slipped on the play, allowing both runners to reach safely. Another sacrifice bunt advanced the runners up a base before Scott found green grass in left field for an RBI single.

Ford led off the top of the fourth inning with a solo home run to reclaim the lead for the Dukes. It was the sophomore's second of the day, the eighth of the season and the 23rd of her career. Senior shortstop Caitlin Sandy (Fayetteville, N.C./Jack Britt) followed with a single to left field and scored on a double to right-center by Moran.

Sandy added an insurance run in the fifth inning with a sacrifice fly that scored sophomore second baseman Hannah Hayes (LaCrosse, Va./Kenston Forest). Hayes reached on a fielder's choice and moved to second on a single by Field and a walk by Ford. For Sandy, it was her eighth career sacrifice fly, tying her for secon