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James Madison University
Georgia State
SOFTBALL FINISHES THIRD AT CAA TOURNAMENT
5/11/2007 4:00:00 AM | Softball
GSU advanced to face top-seeded and defending Hofstra for the title. Hofstra is 2-0 in the tournament, including a 1-0 verdict against GSU Friday.
In the game against Georgia State, JMU jumped out to a 1-0 lead on a solo homer run (7) by sophmore catcher Julia Dominguez (Sterling, Va./Park View) in the top of the second inning. The home run gave her 17 in her career, which is a JMU record.
The game remained tied until the bottom of the fifth. With two outs in the inning, Georgia State's Holly Willis beat out a throw on a short pop that fell just out of the reach of JMU's shortstop. Willis stole second and then scored when Danielle Roddy reached first on a throwing error by the pitcher and advanced to second on the throw. Mary Kathryn Branan gave the Panthers a 2-1 lead with a double to right field before Nichole Griffin grounded out to end the inning.
The 2-1 lead held and the loss eliminated JMU from the tournament with a 1-2 event record.
In the early game against UNC Wilmington, JMU got on the board in the top of the first after senior shortstop Katie George (Virginia Beach, Va./Tallwood) hit a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by junior first baseman Jenn Chavez (Upland, Calif./Upland).
The Dukes added four in the third inning starting with a two-run home run (5) by sophomore Jenny Clohan (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run). Sophomore third baseman Amber Kirk (Hamilton, Va./Loudoun) followed with a solo shot (5) later in the inning. Freshman second baseman Brittney Lyddane (Manassas, Va./Osbourn Park) knocked in the last run of the inning with an RBI triple to right field.
Freshman Brittney Dyson (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) scored in the fourth inning on a passed ball to give JMU a 6-0 lead.
JMU put three more on the board in the fifth inning. Two runs came home when senior Tamara Carrera (San Diego, Calif./Bonita Vista) reached on a fielding error by the shortstop. The third run scored when George reached on a throwing error by the shorstop to give JMU a 9-0 lead.
Sophmore Meredith Felts (Greenville, N.C./J.H. Rose) took a no-hitter into the fifth inning before Paige Wakefield recorded the first hit for the Seahawks. Brittany Straughn put three runs on the board with a three-run home run to left field that ended the shutout and left the score at 9-3 through five innings.
The Dukes added a run in the sixth when Kirk scored on a fielder's choice and another run was added in the seventh on a RBI single by Chavez for the 11-3 victory.
Felts hurled a complete game and tied the school record for wins in a season with 15. She also struck out a career-high 13 batters in the victory.
The Dukes conclude their season with a school-record 38 victories, against 16 defeats.
