JMU SOFTBALL FALLS TO INDIANA IN BULLDOG INVITATIONAL FINALE

Sunday, March 6

Athens, Ga.

9:00 a.m.

James Madison University

9-4

Indiana

10-8

Indiana

James Madison

JMU SOFTBALL FALLS TO INDIANA IN BULLDOG INVITATIONAL FINALE

3/6/2011 5:57:00 PM | Softball

Box Score

ATHENS, Ga., March 6, 2011 – Indiana out-hit James Madison 9-3 and senior pitcher Morgan Melloh struck out 12 to lead IU to a 5-1 win over JMU in the final game of the 2011 Bulldog Invitational on Sunday.

The loss halts JMU's win streak at three games and drops the Dukes to 9-4 on the season. Indiana improved to 10-8 and 2-1 in the tournament.

Freshman right-hander Brittany Jeans (Camano Island, Wash./Stanwood) drew the start for Madison. She allowed three runs on seven hits and two walks in 4 2/3 innings pitched. The rookie struck out three, but took the loss to fall to 1-3. Senior Olivia McPherson (Liberty, N.C./Southern Alamance) allowed two runs on two hits and two walks in 1 1/3 innings of relief while sophomore Cara Stecher (New Castle, Del./Caravel Academy) struck out two in an inning of no-hit relief.

Melloh improved to 8-8 after giving up one run on three hits and two walks in the complete-game effort.

Junior pinch hitter Casey Mansfield (Suffolk, Va./Isle of Wight) singled and drove in one in her only at-bat to lead the Dukes offensively. Sophomore right fielder Lori Botkin (Manassas, Va./Osbourn) walked and scored a run while senior catcher Katie Spitzer (Broadway, Va./Broadway) and sophomore second baseman Caitlen Manning (Prince George, Va./Prince George) each had singles for JMU.

Cassie Gogreve led the Hoosiers attack, going 3-for-3 with a walk and a RBI while first baseman Sara Olson added a solo home run. Center fielder Lindsay Callanan had two hits in four at-bats.

The Hoosiers grabbed the lead in the top of the fourth inning as they took advantage of a pair of illegal pitches by Jeans. Gogreve appeared to groundout to lead off the inning, but an illegal pitch gave her second life. She singled to center on the next pitch she saw and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt and a ground-out to pitcher. Another illegal pitch by Jeans chased home the run for a 1-0 Hoosier lead.

After two quick outs in the top of the fifth, Olson made it 2-0 Indiana with a solo blast to right-center field. A double down the left-field line by right fielder Meaghan Murphy chased Jeans from the game in favor of McPherson. Gogreve welcomed the new JMU pitcher with a single up the middle for a 3-0 lead before McPherson ended the inning with a strikeout of left fielder Heather Nelson.

JMU cut into the lead in the bottom of the fifth on a pinch-hit RBI single by Mansfield. Botkin led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on a wild pitch. After a sacrifice bunt advanced her to third, Mansfield lined a 0-2 offering into left field to make it 3-1.