No. 9 JMU Splits Day One of Louisville Slugger Invitational

Friday, March 11

Tempe, Ariz.

Noon ET

James Madison University

19-1

Ohio State

9-5

James Madison

Ohio State

No. 9 JMU Splits Day One of Louisville Slugger Invitational

3/11/2016 9:29:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

TEMPE. Ariz. – No. 9 James Madison defeated Ohio State 7-4 before falling to No. 23 Nebraska 8-4 on Friday in day one of the Louisville Slugger Invitational at Farrington Stadium. The Dukes moved to 19-2 this season while the Buckeyes fell to 9-5 and Huskers improved to 13-4.

Senior pitcher Jailyn Ford earned both decisions, taking her record in the circle to 8-1. She took the win against OSU after giving up a run and two hits in 4.1 innings while receiving the loss against Nebraska after conceding four runs (two earned) and three hits in 2.2 innings. Sophomore Megan Good pitched 5.3 innings between the games, allowing six earned runs on seven hits.

In game one, Ford sparked with offense with a two-run home run to right center for an early 2-0 advantage. Ohio State answered back in the with an RBI single in the second, followed by a two-run homer in the third taking a 3-2 lead.

Senior outfielder Hannah Hayes tied the game in the fourth with an RBI to the shortstop, scoring junior infielder Niki Prince. Junior Madyson Moran gave the Dukes a 4-3 lead with a sacrifice fly scoring junior utility Tahli Moore.

After OSU tied it back up in the bottom of the fourth, junior Taylor Newton hit a three-run bomb to left center to secure the Dukes' 19th victory of the season.

In game two, sophomore Morgan Tolle put the Dukes ahead 2-0 in the first with a two-run home run to left center. In the fourth, sophomore right fielder Alyssa Buddle scored Prince with an RBI triple down the line and Hayes plated Buddle off a single to the pitcher, giving JMU a 4-0 lead.

Nebraska answered in the bottom half, scoring eight runs to take the lead. After a lead-off double, a JMU error put the Huskers on the board. After tacking on another run to make it 4-2, and with the bases loaded, Austen Urness hit a grand slam to give the Huskers a 6-4 lead. Two batters later, MJ Knighten slapped a two-run shot over the left center wall for the 8-4 advantage.

UP NEXT
The ninth-ranked Dukes return for day two of the Louisville Slugger Invitational Saturday where they get a rematch against the 23rd-ranked Huskers at noon ET (10 a.m. MT), followed by a game versus Georgetown at 5 p.m. ET (3 p.m. MT).

TEAM TALLIES
All nine starters recorded a hit on the day with four Dukes recording two hits, while three batters smacked home runs. Eight different JMU players scored for a total of 11 runs between the two outings.

CLIMBING THE CHARTS
Senior Erica Field is only one hit shy tying JMU's all-time record for career hits and two away from the outright lead. She currently has 231 base hits, trailing former Duke Jasmine Butler (2010-13), who has 232.

STREAK NUMBERS
JMU ended a 17-game win streak that began Feb.13 with a 1-0 win over No. 17 UCF in Orlando, Fla., and continued through today's 7-4 victory over Ohio State. In that time, the Dukes outscored opponents 115-33 with a .318 (147-462) batting average as JMU tallied 99 RBIs, 35 doubles and 22 home runs while the JMU defense held opponents to a .185 batting average.