Offensive Outburst Leads JMU to 4-0 Weekend at Weiler Orthodontics Tournament

Sunday, March 10

Harrisonburg, Va.

12:30 p.m.

James Madison University

15-7

Binghamton

11-7

Binghamton

James Madison

Offensive Outburst Leads JMU to 4-0 Weekend at Weiler Orthodontics Tournament

3/10/2024 7:29:00 PM | Softball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2 Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison softball exploded offensively on the final day of the Weiler Orthodontics Tournament, picking up two five-inning, run-rule victories over Binghamton and St. Joseph's on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU opened the day with a 9-1 win over Binghamton and closed with a 16-5 triumph of St. Joseph's. The Dukes slugged eight home runs and collected 16 extra-base hits, finishing the day with a team batting average of .511 (23-of-45). JMU wrapped up its weekend with a perfect 4-0 record, bringing its 2024 record to 16-7. With their respective losses, Binghamton fell to 11-7 on the season while St. Joseph's moved to 6-13.

Catcher Bella Henzler led the charge at the plate Sunday, connecting on two home runs against Binghamton and finishing a collective 3-for-5 (.600) on the day. KK Mathis and Reed Butler each finished with four hits and a home run apiece, while Carsen Sanders and Morgan Mesaros launched their first long balls of the season in the win over St. Joseph's. Jasmine Hall and Payton List also added home runs, while Kate Carrier finished the weekend 5-of-7 (.714) at the plate with two walks.

Graduate student Molly Grube got the nod in the circle against Binghamton, working 2.0 scoreless innings. Alissa Humphrey relieved Grube, striking out three while picking up her sixth win of the season. Freshman Kirsten Fleet started in the weekend finale against St. Joseph's, earning the win while pitching 3.0 innings. Rebecca Muh made her second appearance of the weekend to close the game, yielding four runs in 2.0 innings.

How It Happened
JMU 9, Binghamton 1 (5 Innings)

After Henzler singled and stole second, Mathis brought her home on an RBI double to left center, making the score 1-0 in the bottom of the first.
Abbie Campbell reached on a single, and Henzler gave the Dukes a 3-0 lead with her first home run of the day.
A double off the bat of Hallie Hall brought home another run in the bottom of the third, extending JMU's lead to 4-0.
Binghamton scratched across a run on a fielder's choice play in the fourth, cutting the deficit to 4-1.
Henzler, Butler, and Mathis hit three consecutive home runs to kick off the bottom of the fifth, giving JMU a 7-1 advantage.
After H.Hall walked, Payton List walked off the Bearcats with her second home run of the season.

JMU 16, St. Joseph's 5 (5 Innings)

Fleet struck out two in what was a scoreless top of the first.
J.Hall led off the bottom of the first with her third home run this season.
After Fleet held the Hawks off the board in the second, JMU added four runs to its lead in the bottom half of the inning. Mesaros scored J.Hall on a sacrifice fly, Butler scored on a double steal, and H.Hall hit an RBI single to center to score Mathis.
St. Joseph's tacked on an unearned run in the third on a sacrifice fly, cutting the JMU lead to 6-1.
Mesaros kicked off the 10-run bottom of the third with a two-RBI double to left. Butler doubled to extend the lead to 9-1, and Mathis followed with another double to give the Dukes a 10-run lead (11-1).
Sanders hit an opposite-field home run to give JMU a 13-1 lead.
Madison Edwards tacked on an RBI single to put the Dukes ahead 14-1, and Mesaros lined a homer to center to extend the lead to 16-1 to cap off the scoring.
St. Joseph's would add on four runs but would get no closer as JMU closed the game with its third run-rule victory of the weekend.

Game Notes

JMU scored 10 runs, hit three consecutive home runs, and finished with four total home runs in the third inning against St. Joseph's. That is the first time the Dukes have put up those numbers in an inning since scoring 11 runs while hitting six home runs against in the fifth inning against Radford on March 22, 2022.
The Dukes outscored their opponents this weekend by a combined score of 43-6.
Mesaros notched her first start of the season against St. Joseph's, picking up a career-high five RBIs.
JMU finished a collective 9-of-19 (.474) with runners in scoring position on Sunday.
Over the past two weeks, Mathis has collected 18 RBIs in the cleanup spot.

Up Next
JMU will open Sun Belt Conference play with a home series against the Texas State Bobcats, with action getting underway on Friday, March 15 at 3 p.m. Each game next weekend will be streamed on ESPN+.

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Next Event

Texas State

L, 4-8

Mar 15 (Fri)

1 p.m.

Box Score Recap Game Notes Watch Live stats History

Full Schedule

Team Stats

Pitching:

W: Fleet, Kirsten (4-0)

L: Taylor Trowbridge (1-4)

St. Joseph's

Batting:

2B: Kayla Tauber 1

RBI: Gianna Muhaw 1 ; Kayla Tauber 3

SF: Kayla Tauber 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Gianna Muhaw 1 ; Haley McMenamin 1 ; Sierra Fretz 2 ; Sarah Cancila 1

SB: Gianna Muhaw 1 ; Kayla Tauber 1 ; Hailey Malito 1

James Madison

Batting:

2B: Butler, Reed 1 ; Mathis, KK 1 ; Carrier, Kate 1 ; Edwards, Madison 1 ; Mesaros, Morgan 1

HR: Hall, Jasmine 1 ; Sanders, Carsen 1 ; Mesaros, Morgan 1

RBI: Hall, Jasmine 1 ; Butler, Reed 2 ; Mathis, KK 2 ; Hall, Hallie 1 ; Sanders, Carsen 2 ; Edwards, Madison 1 ; Mesaros, Morgan 5

SH: Edwards, Madison 1

SF: Rogers, Lexi 1 ; Mesaros, Morgan 1

Base Running:

RUNS: Hall, Jasmine 2 ; Fulton, Lauren 1 ; Henzler, Bella 1 ; Butler, Reed 2 ; Mathis, KK 2 ; Sanders, Carsen 1 ; Carrier, Kate 1 ; Thress, Kylie 2 ; Edwards, Madison 2 ; Mesaros, Morgan 2