James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Tuesday, March 4
Lynchburg, Va.
4 p.m.
James Madison University
6-9
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Liberty
17-4
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5
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7
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James Madison
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Liberty
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Dukes Lose Hard Fought Battle Against Liberty
3/4/2025 7:02:00 PM | Softball
LYNCHBURG, Va.- Tied at one heading into the fifth inning, James Madison softball could not stop Liberty's Savannah Woodard as she hit the go-ahead home run in the fifth, as the Dukes lost a hard-fought game, 2-1, on Tuesday night in Lynchburg.
Woodard accounted for both runs for Liberty (17-4), with a sacrifice fly in the third and the go-ahead solo shot in the fifth.
Reed Butler had an all-out effort for JMU (6-9) on both sides of the ball, contributing the lone Dukes run on an RBI single and then saving a run from scoring with a diving catch in left center field.
Kylee Gleason earned her third multi-hit game of the season with two hits, as she extended her hitting streak to a team-best four games.
Kirsten Fleet allowed five hits on two earned runs in five innings pitched and Madalyn Johnson came on in relief to pitch a scoreless sixth and keep it a one-run ball game.
Paige Bachman earned her first save of the season for the Flames, pitching two innings of two-hit ball. The senior escaped James Madison runners on second and third to close out the game in the seventh.
How It Happened
Third Inning
Woodard accounted for both runs for Liberty (17-4), with a sacrifice fly in the third and the go-ahead solo shot in the fifth.
Reed Butler had an all-out effort for JMU (6-9) on both sides of the ball, contributing the lone Dukes run on an RBI single and then saving a run from scoring with a diving catch in left center field.
Kylee Gleason earned her third multi-hit game of the season with two hits, as she extended her hitting streak to a team-best four games.
Kirsten Fleet allowed five hits on two earned runs in five innings pitched and Madalyn Johnson came on in relief to pitch a scoreless sixth and keep it a one-run ball game.
Paige Bachman earned her first save of the season for the Flames, pitching two innings of two-hit ball. The senior escaped James Madison runners on second and third to close out the game in the seventh.
How It Happened
Third Inning
- Following a triple to center by Liberty's Savanah Whatley, second baseman Savannah Woodard hit a sacrifice fly to bring her home for the Flames' first run.
- Reed Butler tied the game at one apiece with an RBI single to left center, scoring Raegan Wall from third
- Woodard struck again, this time with a solo shot to right center to put the Flames back up by one.
- James Madison moves to 15-11 all-time against Liberty and 1-9 in Lynchburg
- After Tuesday's contest, the Dukes are 0-3 in games this season in which they are tied going into the fifth inning
- Gleason has a six-game on-base streak, the fourth five-plus on-base streak for a Duke this season. Madison Edwards previously had a seven-game streak, and Cali Legzdin also reached base six straight games this season
- Jasmine Hall played in her 150th game at James Madison on Tuesday, joining Butler as the only two current Dukes to play in 150 games at JMU in their careers
- Butler has recorded an RBI in five of the last seven contests, which leads the team
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ESCOBAR, Elena (5-1)
L: Fleet, Kirsten (3-3)
S: BACHMAN, Paige (1)
Batting:
RBI: Butler, Reed 1
SH: Romero, Lily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wall, Raegan 1
SB: Wall, Raegan 1 ; Butler, Reed 1
Batting:
2B: ROUPE, Rachel 1
3B: WHATLEY, Savanah 1
HR: WOODARD, Savannah 1
RBI: WOODARD, Savannah 2
SF: WOODARD, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WOODARD, Savannah 1 ; WHATLEY, Savanah 1
Game Leaders
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
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