STATESBORO, Ga. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison softball powered past Georgia Southern clinch its first Sun Belt Conference softball series victory of the season on Sunday afternoon at Eagle Field.
JMU (14-12, 2-1 Sun Belt) tied a season-high 15 hits, scoring nine runs. Georgia Southern (12-14, 1-2 SBC) finished with three runs on four hits.
Kendra Lewis led the offensive charge, going 3-for-4 with four RBI, which include a three-run home run and an RBI double as part of JMU’s big middle innings. The Dukes scored eight runs between the fourth and sixth innings to take control.
Cali Legzdin went 4-for-4 with three RBI, highlighted by a bases-clearing triple that helped break the game open. At the top of the lineup, Kylee Gleason added a 3-for-5 performance with an RBI, while Madison Edwards and Emily LeGrand each contributed hits and scored runs.
In the circle, Payton List lasted 6.1 innings and picked up the win, striking out five batters and scattering three hits. Taylor Johnson entered for List in the seventh, securing two outs to give JMU the win.
How It Happened
JMU 9, Georgia Southern 3
• Georgia Southern struck first in the bottom of the second with a two-run homer, but the Dukes quickly answered in the third with a Gleason single up the middle to bring home Legzdin to trim the deficit to 2-1.
• The Dukes broke things open in the fourth inning, as Legzdin lifted a bases-clearing triple to left field to give JMU a 4-2 advantage.
• JMU continued to pile on in the fifth as Lewis crushed a three-run homer to deep left, her seventh of the season, bringing home Kylee Gleason and Madison Edwards.
• The Dukes added two more runs in the sixth with an Edwards sacrifice fly that scored Legzdin, followed by an RBI double from Lewis that plated LeGrand.
• Georgia Southern pushed across a run in the seventh, but the Dukes’ pitching staff closed the door to secure the win and the series victory.
The Dukes begin their two-week homestand this Tuesday March 17, hosting No. 24 Virginia at Veterans Memorial Park, with first pitch slated for 4 p.m.
— JMU Athletics —
