Late surge propels #25 JMU softball past College of Charleston, 9-1

James Madison put up four runs in the fifth and five more in the sixth to earn a 9-1 run-rule victory against the College of Charleston in game one of the Colonial Athletic Association softball series Saturdayafternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

The Dukes won for the 16th straight outing, improving to 25-6 on the season and 4-0 in CAA play, while the Cougars dropped to 17-15 and 2-2.

Freshman pitcher Megan Good moved her record to 14-0 this year after tossing six innings, allowing just one unearned run and four hits, while striking out seven CofC batters. Junior first baseman Jailyn Ford went 3-for-4 from the plate with a home run, which put the Dukes up eight runs to end the ballgame, to go with her four RBI’s.

Junior catcher Erica Field and junior left fielder Hannah Hayes also produced multi-hit outings as Field went 2-for-3 with a run and RBI while Hayes was 2-for-2 with a pair of RBI’s. Good also drove in two more runs for JMU.

Hope Klicker took the loss for the Cougars, falling to 9-11 this year, after conceding eight runs (five earned) and eight hits, while walking three in her 5.1 innings pitched. Of CofC’s four hits, two came from Rebecca Mueller, the lone Cougar to have more than a hit, as she went 2-for-3.

The Cougars took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first as they quickly loaded the bases after JMU allowed a fielding error, a fielder’s choice and single with one out. Sara Garcia hit a single to right, scoring Mackenzie Maples. After CofC reloaded the bases, Good and the Dukes got out of the jam, forcing Katie Padilla into a groundout.

JMU put runners in scoring position in the second and fourth but didn’t produce any runs as the Cougs held the Dukes to just two hits through four innings.

In the fifth, Madison broke through, scoring four runs with two outs to take a lead it would never relinquish. JMU put runners on second and third with one away and Good hit a sacrifice fly to left, to score sophomore shortstop Niki Princefrom third to tie it. On the ensuing at-bat, Ford laced a single up the middle to score sophomore pinch runner Mimi Morrisfrom 60 feet away, giving JMU a 2-1 advantage.

Charleston committed its second error of the inning to put runners on second and third with two outs and Hayes drove both runners in with her two-RBI single, to make it a 4-1 ballgame.

In the sixth, JMU piled on five more to earn the run-rule triumph. With runners on the corners and one out, Field hit a double off the wall to score freshman second baseman Morgan Tolle, making it a 5-1 lead for JMU. That double, the 43rd of her career, tied former Duke Ashley Burnham (2009-12) for first all-time in doubles.

Good singled to score Prince from 60 feet away and Ford ended the game at 9-1 when she hit a three-run home run over the right center wall. It was Ford’s seventh homer of the year and 31st of her career, which ranks second all-time at JMU.

The Dukes and Cougars will play a doubleheader to close out the series, beginning at 1 p.m. on Sunday. The games can be heard live on MadiZONE HD SportsNet, presented by the JMU Alumni Association.