James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
2017 Softball Roster
Roster
Taylor Newton
- Year:
- Senior
- Position:
- Outfield
- Height:
- 5-8
- B/T:
- R/R
- Hometown:
- Bradenton, Fla.
- High School:
- Lakewood Ranch
- Major:
- Health Sciences
2017 as a Senior:
- First Team All-ECAC
- NFCA First Team All-Northeast Region
- VaSID First Team All-State
- CAA All-Tournament Team
- All-CAA First Team
- CAA Player of the Week (May 8)
- Started all 60 games in right field
- Went 60-for-175 at the plate to record a .343 average
- Scored 42 runs over senior season
- Knocked 11 doubles, three triples and 11 home runs for a .629 slugging percentage
- Tallied 47 RBI over the season to become JMU's and the CAA's all-time career RBI leader
- Perfect fielding percentage with help of 27 putouts
- Knocked the game-winning home run against Oregon State to open the Waco Regional (5/19)
- Recorded game-winning RBI against Hofstra in the CAA Championship title game, tying the CAA all-time RBI record (5/12)
- Went 3-for-4 with two RBIs against Elon (5/5)
- Tallied two RBIs in JMU's 8-0 run-rule victory at North Carolina on April 26
- Drove home three runs on two singles in JMU's 4-1 victory over UNCW (4/23)
- Plated three runs on a team-leading eighth home run of the season against the Blue Hens (4/14)
- Became just the sixth Duke in program history to notch 200 career hits after a two-hit outing against Delaware (4/14)
- Went 2-for-3 with three RBIs against Virginia (4/4)
- Drove in four RBIs in a doubleheader against Virginia Tech (3/29) to become JMU's all-time career RBI leader
- Scored 100th career run against UMass Lowell (2/24) to become one of eight Dukes to ever eclipse the mark
- Posted three hits and two RBIs against East Carolina (3/11)
- Tallied three hits against Kansas (3/5)
- Notched three RBIs after a 2-for-3 da against UMass Lowell (2/24)
- Drove in two RBIs on a triple against Saint Joseph's (2/19)
- Went 2-for-5 with a triple and RBI at Charleston Southern (2/10)
- Slugged three-run home run against No. 17/19 Missouri (2/10)
- Athletics Director Scholar-Athlete (Fall 2016)
2016 as a Junior:
• NFCA First Team All-Region
• CAA All-Tournament Team
• Second Team All-CAA
• Started in all 56 games this season
• Third on JMU's single-season charts in runs batted in
• Led the team in RBIs with 51
• Recorded 46 hits, 10 doubles and eight home runs
• Second in the CAA in RBIs
• Tied for first on the team with 10 doubles
• Second on the team in home runs
• Recorded eight multi-hit and 11 multi-RBI games this season
• Hit a grand slam in the first game of the NCAA Harrisonburg Regional
• CAA Commissioner’s Academic Award recipient
• Athletics Director Scholar-Athlete (Spring 2016)
2015 as a Sophomore:
• First Team All-CAA
• NFCA First Team All-Northeast Region
• ECAC First Team All-Star
• VaSID First Team All-State
• CAA Player of the Week (5/4)
• ECAC Player of the Week (5/5)
• Started all 58 games this season
• Turned in JMU's fourth-best, single-season batting average (.399), and the third-best on-base percentage (.454) and RBI total (49)
• Ranked fourth in the CAA in batting average, hits (67), RBIs, stolen bases (13) and total bases (115)
• In the month of April, which JMU went 15-0, hit .628 with four home runs, 21 RBIs, 12 runs, a 1.140 slugging percentage and a .673 on-base percentage
• Hit .399 this season with 10 home runs, 49 RBIs, 32 runs, a .685 slugging percentage and a .454 on-base percentage
• Committed just one error defensively, finishing the season with a .998 field percentage, with 427 putouts and 25 assists
• Had 21 multi-hit games, including five games with three hits
• Produced 11 multi-RBI games, including six games with three or more RBIs
• Put together an 11-game hit streak during the season while reaching base safely in a personal-record 27 straight games
• Went 3-for-3 with three runs in JMU's 9-1 win over Binghamton in the NCAA Harrisonburg Regional (5/15)
• Hit 3-for-4 with a homer and three RBI's in JMU's 13-2 victory over Elon in the CAA Championship (5/7)
• Was 3-for-3 with a home run, three RBIs and two runs in JMU's 10-3 win versus Virginia Tech to cap off a double header sweep (4/29)
• CAA Commissioner's Academic Award (Spring 2015)
2014 as a Freshman:
• All-CAA Second Team
• CAA All-Rookie Team
• CAA and ECAC Player of the Week (3/25)
• Started all 60 games in the outfield for the Dukes
• Hit .264 with six doubles, two triples and eight home runs
• Added 32 RBIs, 31 runs, 15 walks, four sacrifice flies and six steals
• Went 5-for-8 with three home runs and eight RBIs during a weekend series against Hofstra
High School:
• Lakewood Ranch Softball Most Valuable Player
• Florida All-Star Team selection
• Three-time All-Area Selection
• Four-year varsity letterwinner
• Brighthouse Athlete of the Week
• As a junior helped lead her team to the State Final Four by batting .379 with 11 doubles, four triples and three home runs.
• Was named the 2010 Rookie of the Year on Lakewood Ranch’s district championship team
• Played her club ball for the Sarasota Heat 18U Gold
• Daughter of Marcy and James Newton
• Varsity Letter Scholar-Athlete, given to students with a 4.0 or greater weighted GPA
• Nickname is Figgie
• Majoring in health sciences with a concentration in public health
Getting to Know Taylor Newton
Why did you choose to play at JMU? The campus and to play for a competitive softball team
What do you love most about JMU? I love the atmosphere and the team
What is your favorite place to eat on campus? Dukes
Most people don’t know that I … Won a business entrepreneurship scholarship by inventing a pair of washable batting gloves
What will be your “walk out” song/songs for 2014? MAAD City (Clean Version)- Kendrick Lamar
What is your favorite …
Food: Tacos
Movie: 21 Jump Street
TV Show: Modern Family
Song: Red by Taylor Swift
Athlete: Chipper Jones
Holiday: Christmas
What is one personal goal you have for the 2014 season? To reach my home run goal
What are your favorite hobbies away from softball? Tanning at the beach
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? Don’t let anyone out work you - Dad
What is your ideal vacation? Fiji
If not softball, what other sport would you want to play at JMU? Basketball
If you could have dinner with any three people in the world, who would they be? My mom, dad and sister
