Dukes Pick Up Pair of Dominant Wins to Open Weiler Orthodontics Tournament

Friday, March 8

Harrisonburg, Va.

1:30 p.m.

James Madison University

13-7

Binghamton

11-5

Binghamton

James Madison

Dukes Pick Up Pair of Dominant Wins to Open Weiler Orthodontics Tournament

3/8/2024 7:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery Photo Gallery 2

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison softball picked up two convincing wins over Binghamton (9-0) and Radford (9-2) to open the Weiler Orthodontics Tournament on Friday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU moved to 14-7 with the pair of wins, scoring 18 total runs and racking up 22 hits while hitting .431 as a team. Binghamton fell to 11-5 with the loss, while Radford dropped to 10-10.

Senior Hallie Hall and sophomore KK Mathis each picked up six RBIs to lead the Dukes on Friday. Hall finished the day 4-of-6 (.667) with a home run, while Mathis finished 3-of-7 (.428) at the plate with a home run and two doubles. Catcher Bella Henzler racked up four hits in five at-bats (.800), including a double and five runs, while outfielder Kate Carrier went 3-of-4 with an RBI

Alissa Humphrey worked all four innings in the win versus Binghamton, striking out seven batters and only yielding one hit. Redshirt freshman Payton List made her sixth start of the season against Radford, scattering four hits over five innings and striking out one batter.

How It Happened
JMU 9, Binghamton 0 (5 Inn.)

A walk and fielder's choice set the stage for a two-RBI single from H. Hall, giving the Dukes a 2-0 lead in the first inning.
Humphrey struck out the side in the second, totaling four punchouts through two frames.
J.Hall doubled JMU's lead to 4-0 on a double down the right field line in the bottom of the second, and Henzler followed with a single to center to make the score 5-0.
A bases-loaded walk from Kate Carrier extended the Dukes' lead to 6-0 in the second.
Mathis smoked a double down the left field line in the bottom of the fourth, scoring Henzler and making the score 7-0. H.Hall followed with her second home run of the year to give JMU a 9-0 lead, still in the bottom of the inning.
Rebecca Muh made her first appearance of the season in the top of the fifth and finished the Dukes' win with a popup to first base.

JMU 9, Radford 2

JMU opened the game with three straight singles, and Mathis opened the scoring with a double to left, giving the Dukes a 2-0 advantage.
H.Hall picked up two more RBIs on a single, scoring Mathis and Butler to give JMU a 4-0 lead after one inning.
Mathis opened the game up with a three-run homer to left, extending the JMU lead to 7-0.
Radford scratched across a run in the top of the third on a single from Cassi Barbado.
The Highlanders cut the lead to 7-2 in the top of the fifth on another RBI hit from Barbado.
J.Hall hit a sacrifice fly to center, giving JMU an 8-2 lead in the bottom of the fifth.
Kirsten Fleet entered in relief in the sixth, inducing two groundouts and striking out a batter to post a scoreless frame.
Carsen Sanders missed a walk-off home run by inches, but she picked up her second career double, which scored pinch-runner Avery Pinder and gave JMU a 9-2 lead in the bottom of the sixth.
Fleet closed the game with a strikeout.

Game Notes

Humphrey made her 36th career win versus Binghamton, which ranks seventh in school history.
Lexi Rogers made her first start of the season against Binghamton, finishing 0-for-1.
JMU has now won 10 straight against Binghamton, outscoring the Bearcats 84-9 throughout those games.
JMU improved to 14-0 this season when scoring three or more runs.
Mathis' five RBIs versus Radford is a career-high.

Up Next
The Dukes will play two more games tomorrow as part of the Weiler Orthodontics Tournament, one against Binghamton (1:30 p.m.) and St. Joseph's (4 p.m.). Both games will be streamed on ESPN+.