JMU Claims Four Major CAA Softball Awards; Eleven Dukes Named All-CAA

RICHMOND, Va. – James Madison claimed four major Colonial Athletic Association softball end-of-season awards, as the league announced the 2017 all-conference teams Tuesday evening. Five Dukes were also named to the All-CAA First Team while one earned All-CAA Second Team recognition. Four JMU freshmen were also tabbed to the CAA All-Rookie squad.

Junior pitcher/utility player Megan Good made CAA history as she was named CAA Pitcher of the Year for the third consecutive season as well as earning her first CAA Player of the Year accolade, marking the first time in conference history that a single player has won both awards over the same season. Freshman Odicci Alexander was selected as the CAA Rookie of the Year, while Head Coach Mickey Dean rounded out the major awards with this fourth consecutive CAA Coach of the Year title.

Good earned the sweep of the league's top player and pitcher honors after a phenomenal junior campaign both in the circle and at the plate. A finalist for USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, Good leads the nation in victories with a 34-1 record in the circle, setting JMU's single-season wins record. She has tallied a nation-best 13 shutouts, a single-season record, helping JMU to a program-high 24 shutouts over the 2017 season. Good ranks second in the nation with a 0.47 ERA over 207.2 innings of work, having allowed just 14 earned runs. Her ERA was helped by a streak of 70.1 scoreless innings of softball, the 11^th-longest streak in NCAA history.

The right-hander has struck out a single-season record total of 244 to rank 11th nationally and earlier the season she became JMU's all-time leader in career wins as he record in the circle now stands at 95-7. Over her junior season, Good tossed her fourth career no-hitter and blanked No. 2 Auburn, the first time the Tigers had been shutout since the 2015 season.

At the plate, Good is just as dangerous. She ranks second in the conference with a .394 average with 63 hits over the regular season. The leads the league with 51 RBIs, the third-most over a single-season in school history. She also leads the team in multi-RBI games with 15 while tallying 18 multi-hit outings. She has knocked 11 doubles and 10 home runs for a .650 slugging percentage, which ranks third in the CAA. Aided by 24 walks, Good holds a .468 on-base percentage heading into the postseason.

Alexander earned JMU's first CAA Rookie of the Year title since Good received the honor during the 2015 season. The three-time CAA Rookie of the Week wrapped up the regular season with a 2.46 ERA with a 10-5 record in the circle. The right-hander tossed sixth shutouts over her debut season, the eighth-most over a single-season, and has struck out 77 while only issuing 23 walks. Alexander's highlight victories include a shutout over then nationally-ranked South Florida and striking out the first seven batters faced in her collegiate debut against Charleston Southern.

Starting 50 games in the lineup, Alexander holds a .341 average at the plate with 44 hits, including seven doubles, two triples and seven home runs for a .589 slugging percentage. She has scored 26 runs with 33 RBIs to her credit.

Dean guided JMU to its fifth consecutive 40-win season and fourth straight regular-season title to enter the CAA Championship as the No. 1 seed. The Dukes have enjoyed a national ranking throughout the 2017 season and have tallied 10 victories over opponents that were either ranked or receiving votes nationally. As a squad, JMU ranks in the top five in all of Division I softball in batting average (.354), ERA (1.29), home runs per game (1.25), scoring (6.89), slugging percentage (.569) and winning percentage (.887).

Good was also tabbed to the All-CAA First Team as was joined on the squad by junior first baseman Morgan Tolle, freshman second baseman Madison Naujokas, senior shortstop Niki Prince and senior outfielder Taylor Newton.

Tolle earned her second all-conference honor of her career with her first selection to the All-CAA First Team. She holds a .382 average at the plate in the leadoff position with a team-leading and career-best 66 hits. She has knocked 14 doubles, one triple and five home runs for a .561 slugging percentage with 24 RBIs. Tolle has also scored 37 runs. Over her junior season, Tolle strung together a team-best 21-game hit streak and 28-game reached base streak and tied the JMU single-game record with four hits against Maryland (3/19) and in-state foe Virginia (4/4).

Naujokas was the lone JMU freshman to earn All-CAA honors with her selection to the first team. She holds a .278 average at the plate with 32 hits, including five doubles, one triple and one home run for a .365 slugging percentage. She has scored 25 runs with a total of 19 RBIs. She leads the team with 26 walks to hold a .425 on-base percentage over her rookie season. She holds a .962 fielding percentage at second base with 93 putouts, 57 assists and with just six errors.

Earning her third All-CAA accolade, Prince has been nothing short of impressive at shortstop. She holds a .962 fielding percentage having committed just five errors in 132 chances. She leads the team with 41 runs scored, helping Prince to both JMU and the CAA's career records for runs scored. She holds a .383 average at the plate with 51 hits. She has knocked 10 doubles, two triples and nine home runs to plate 46 runs while her .692 slugging percentage ranks second in the league.

Newton earns her fourth all-conference honor of her career after holding a .346 average at the plate over the regular-season. She has knocked 55 hits, including 11 doubles, two triples and a team-leading 11 home runs for a .648 slugging percentage. She has tallied 46 RBIs while scoring a career-best 39 runs. Earlier this season, Newton broke JMU and the CAA's career RBI record as she closes the regular season with 178. She holds a flawless fielding percentage in right field with 24 putouts.

Senior third baseman Madyson Moran was the lone Duke named to the All-CAA Second Team.

A candidate for the Senior CLASS Award, Moran wrapped up the regular-season with a .317 average with a career-best 45 hits. She also put up career-best numbers with 38 runs scored and 37 RBIs. She knocked seven doubles, two triples and a career-high seven home runs for a .542 slugging percentage. She has only committed four errors in 53 starts at third base for a .974 fielding percentage.

Alexander and Naujokas were both honored with selections to the All-CAA Rookie Team and were joined by fellow freshmen outfielder Cambry Arnold and catcher Kierstin Roadcap.

Arnold has started all 53 games in the JMU outfield and holds a .378 average at the plate with 54 hits over her debut season. She has scored 39 runs with eight RBIs. She holds a .399 slugging percentage with help of a double and triple. She leads the team with 14 sacrifice hits.

Roadcap made 34 starts behind the dish for the Dukes and holds a .321 average over the regular season. She has eight extra-base hits to her credit with two doubles and six home runs, two of which were grand slams, for a .577 slugging percentage. She has driven home 21 runs and holds a .988 fielding percentage with just three errors committed behind the plate.

Junior utility player Ashley Samuels wrapped up JMU's honors as she was named to the CAA All-Academic team for her success on and off the field. Samuels holds a 3.646 GPA in kinesiology. She has made 11 appearances with two starts behind the plate over her junior season. She holds a .800 average as she is 4-for-5 with four runs and four RBIs. Earlier this season, she slugged her first career home run.

James Madison hosts the 2017 CAA Championship, which begins on Wednesday, May 10. The top-seeded Dukes will face the winner of No. 4 UNCW vs. No. 5 Delaware at 4 p.m.

Calendar