JMU Drops Saturday Contest Against Texas State, 7-3

Saturday, March 16

Harrisonburg, Va.

1 p.m.

James Madison University

16-9, 0-2

Texas State

22-6, 2-0

Texas State

James Madison

3/16/2024 4:53:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Reed Butler reached base for the 19th consecutive game, but James Madison softball dropped the second game of its weekend series, 7-3, to Texas State on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU (16-9, 0-2 Sun Belt) tallied three runs on seven hits, while Texas State won its ninth consecutive game, improving to 22-6 and 2-0 in league play on seven runs and 12 hits, and one error.

Butler and Hallie Hall each finished with two hits to lead the Dukes at the plate. Butler finished 2-for-3 with an RBI, while Hall went 2-for-4 with a home run. Bella Henzler finished 1-for-4 with an RBI, while Jasmine Hall and Payton List also recorded hits in the loss.

Alissa Humphrey started in the circle for the Dukes, pitching 3.0 innings while yielding four runs and striking out five batters. Molly Grube relieved Humphrey, working 4.0 innings and giving up three earned runs.

How It Happened
Texas State 7, JMU 3

The Bobcats got on the board in the top of the first. Ciara Trahan singled to third, and Sara Vanderford doubled her home to give the visitors a 1-0 lead.
Humphrey worked around base runners in the second inning, picking up her fourth strikeout of the day to strand two Texas State baserunners and keeping the score at 1-0.
The Dukes opened the bottom of the second with back-to-back singles from H.Hall and List, but the next three JMU batters were retired to keep the score 1-0 through two innings.
Texas State's Anna Jones hit a one-out double in the top of the third, scoring on a single from an RBI single from Piper Randolph to make the score 2-0.
JJ Smith pushed the Bobcats' lead to 4-0 on a two-run home run to center field.
Texas State extended its lead to 7-0 in the fourth on a three-run homer from Vanderford.
Henzler got the Dukes on the board with an RBI single to the shortstop, cutting the visitors' lead to 7-1 in the bottom of the fifth.
A sacrifice fly to left from Butler brought home Madison Edwards and trimmed the deficit to 7-2.
H.Hall hit her third long ball of the season, which made the score 7-3 in the bottom of the sixth.
Henzler reached on an error and Butler singled in the bottom of the seventh, but a strikeout and lineout ended the game.

Game Notes

Humphrey's start was the 90th appearance of her career, moving her past Briana Carrera for the eighth most appearances in school history.
Butler has now reached safely in 19 straight games. Her on-base percentage of .457 leads the Dukes among qualified hitters.
JMU finished 2-for-9 (.222) with runners in scoring position.
After winning its first 14 games when scoring 3+ runs, the Dukes have dropped consecutive games while scoring three or more.

Up Next
JMU and Texas State will close their three-game series tomorrow, Sunday, March 16. First pitch from Veterans Memorial Park is scheduled for 11:05 a.m., with the game streaming on ESPN+.