ORLANDO, Fla. – The James Madison softball team lost a hard-fought battle against No. 4 Florida on the final day of the UCF Knights Classic at the UCF Softball Complex.
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The Gators improve to 15-0 on the season while the Dukes fall to 3-5.Â
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Florida scored the first run of the game in the first inning with a home run to right center, followed by a sacrifice fly to center field that brought in a second run.Â
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JMU held off the Gators until the top of the third, when Florida led off with another homer to right field, followed by a three-run home run to center field, pushing the lead to 5-0. The Gators got their final run in the top of the fourth when a runner stole home.Â
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The Dukes responded in the bottom of the fifth, when
Jasmine Hall and
Isabelle Fishman both scored off a throwing error by Florida that went all the way to the right field fence.
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JMU cut the deficit even further late, using four walks in the seventh inning to push home
Lily Romero and
Hallie Hall and make it 6-4, but the Dukes were unable to get any closer as Florida closed out the win.
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Alissa Humphrey had the strongest showing of three JMU pitchers on the day, throwing 4.2 innings and notching two strikeouts while only yielding three hits and a run.
Hallie Hall and
Emily Phillips each had doubles to lead the offense.
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UP NEXT
JMU will be heading down south to Liberty for the Liberty Classic from 3/4-3/6 where they will face Liberty (Fri.), George Washington (Sat. & Sun.), Notre Dame (Sat.) and Lehigh (Sun.).
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