HARRISONBURG, Va. – A five-run top of the sixth inning for Liberty, including back-to-back-to-back home runs, pushed the Flames past James Madison softball, 9-8, on Tuesday evening at Veterans Memorial Park.Â
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JMU (12-11) finished with eight runs on 11 hits and no errors, while Liberty (8-15) recorded nine runs on five hits and zero errors.Â
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Kylee Gleason led the Dukes at the plate with a 3-for-4 outing, her first three-hit outing of the 2026 season.
Emily LeGrand finished 2-for-4 with a home run and two RBI, while
Kendra Lewis swatted her team-leading sixth long ball of the campaign.Â
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Alexia Carrasquillo, Savannah Jessee, and Brynn McManus all hit home runs for the Flames, with three of their five hits coming via the long ball. Camden Anders (3-1) picked up the win in the circle, going the final 3.1 innings.Â
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How It Happened
Liberty 9, James Madison 8
- Liberty opened the game with three runs in the first inning to take an early 3–0 lead.
- The Dukes quickly answered in the bottom half of the inning. Payton List sparked the rally with a two-run double to right center, scoring LeGrand and Gleason.Â
- Moments later, Kira Ortega singled to center to bring List home and tie the game at 3–3.
- Liberty regained the lead in the third inning with a run to go ahead 4–3.
- JMU responded in the fourth with a big offensive frame. Kendra Lewis launched a two-run home run to right field, scoring Emma Jo Evans to give the Dukes a 5–4 advantage. Later in the inning, Kylee Gleason added an RBI single through the right side to plate Cali Legzdin, extending the lead to 6–4.
- Liberty surged back in the sixth inning, using three homers to take a 9-6 lead.Â
- In the seventh, LeGrand crushed a two-run homer to cut the deficit to 9–8, but the Dukes Madison could not complete the comeback.
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The Dukes are set to open Sun Belt Conference play in Statesboro, Ga., against Georgia Southern. The three-game set will commence on Friday, March 13, at 6 p.m. on ESPN+.Â
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