No. 14 JMU Blanks Drexel in Doubleheader Sweep

Saturday, April 29

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

42-6, 0

Drexel

15-26, 0

Drexel

James Madison

4/29/2017 6:43:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 @JMUSoftball Game On Box Game Two Box Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Powered by seven home runs and two shutouts, No. 14/15 James Madison softball slugged past Drexel to sweep Saturday's doubleheader slate at Veterans Memorial Park.

Junior Megan Good notched her nation-leading 13th shutout of the season to carry JMU to a 3-0 victory in the series opener. The Dukes slugged five home runs over game two to tie the program's single-game record as JMU tallied a 10-0 triumph in six innings to sweep Saturday's doubleheader.

The Dukes have now won 12 consecutive games to improve to 43-6 overall with a 14-2 mark in conference play. Drexel stumbled to 15-27 overall with a 3-13 record in the Colonial Athletic Association.

Good led JMU at the plate going 3-for-5 with two home runs and three RBIs over Saturday's slate. Junior infielder Morgan Tolle knocked three extra-base hits with a double and two home runs to tally three RBIs. In a pinch-hit appearance, junior Ashley Samuels drove home three runs on her first career home run.

Earning the victory in game one, Good held Drexel to just three hits over seven innings while striking out nine to notch her 30th victory over the season. Freshman Odicci Alexander tallied her second consecutive shutout as she dealt six innings of three-hit softball while striking out five. The right-hander improved to 10-5 over her debut season.

Trading a scoreless first inning to open the series, senior infielder Niki Prince put the Dukes on the board in the bottom of the second with a solo homer to left field. JMU added two runs in the bottom of the fifth with back-to-back doubles from freshman pinch hitter Natalie Cutright and Tolle. Good kept Drexel off balanced, scattering three hits over seven innings to notch her 29th career shutout.

Tolle open game two of the series with a solo home run to left center field to put JMU up 1-0 after the first inning. She knocked her second home run of the contest to lead off the bottom of the third to extend JMU's lead to 2-0.

Home runs from Good and freshman catcher Kate Gordon in the bottom of the fifth pushed the lead to 5-0 before a sacrifice fly from senior infielder Madyson Moran and an RBI single from Prince plated two runs for a 7-0 JMU lead.

Samuels knocked the game-winning hit in the bottom of the sixth as her pinch-hit, three-run homer to left field secured a 10-0 run-rule victory.

BOMBS AWAY
For the second time this season, JMU has tied the single-game home run record after slugging five homers in game two of the Drexel series. JMU first matched the feat this season against College of Charleston on April 1.

RECORD WATCH
With a dominating performance in the circle and at the plate, Megan Good has inched closer to creating more JMU history. Good notched her 29 career shutout as she ranks just second to Jailyn Ford's career total of 31. She also notched her 30th victory of her junior season to move into second outright on the single-season standings. Good holds the single-season record of 32 victories, which she set during the 2016 season. She also brought her season RBI total to 50 after Saturday's sweep which is good for fourth on the single-season charts. Sarah Mooney holds the record with 67 RBIs over the 2013 season.

TWEET OF THE GAME

National anthem time for @DrexelDragons and @JMUSoftball #GoDukes @CAASports pic.twitter.com/GsrYU22azI
— James Hickey (@PressBoxGuy) April 29, 2017

RETURN TO DOMINANCE
After not making a start in the circle for seven consecutive games, Odicci Alexander has returned to form. The right-hander has made sixth consecutive scoreless appearances while notching two shutout victories. Alexander has tossed 21 consecutive scoreless innings and has held opponents to just nine hits over the span.

PLAY OF THE GAME

Ashley Samuels slugs her first career home to notch a 10-0 run-rule victory over Drexel.

SHUTOUT CENTRAL
The JMU pitching staff has given Drexel woes over the past two seasons. Over the last five games in the series, JMU has outscored the Dragons 32-0 as the pitching staff has dealt five consecutive shutouts over 32.0 innings.

PHOTO OF THE GAME - VIEW FULL GALLERY

Madison Naujokas makes a diving play at first to record an out.

CONFERENCE STANDINGS

	Conference Record	Overall Record
James Madison	14-2	43-6
Hofstra	9-5	23-18
UNCW	9-7	30-13-1
Charleston	9-7	29-19
Elon	8-8	31-18
Delaware	7-10	20-25
Towson	4-11	21-25
Drexel	3-13	15-27

UP NEXT
JMU searches for its fourth consecutive conference series sweep when the Dukes battle Drexel in the series finale on Sunday, April 30. First pitch is slated for 1 p.m.