BOONE, N.C. – James Madison softball swept a doubleheader from App State Saturday, running its win streak to eight and securing a second consecutive Sun Belt Series sweep with triumphs by the scores of 5-4 and 8-2 at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
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The pair of wins boosted JMU's record to 29-16 and 11-7 in Sun Belt play, while App State dropped to 17-24 and 4-13 against league competition. The Dukes hit 10 home runs to help sweep the Mountaineers, as JMU paces the Sun Belt with 61 round-trippers this season.
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Trailing 2-1 in the fourth inning of game one, a pair of two-run home runs fromÂ
Hallie Hall andÂ
Abbie Campbell gave the Dukes enough to hold on for the 5-4 victory. In the finale, JMU scored six straight runs to pull away for an 8-2 triumph.Â
Payton List (10-7) picked up a pair of wins on the day, whileÂ
Alissa Humphrey recorded saves in each contest. Â
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Hall led the Dukes at the plate on Saturday, hitting two home runs and driving in four runs. Along with Campbell,Â
Jasmine Hall andÂ
Payton List each swatted long balls.
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How It Happened
Game One: James Madison 5, App State 4
- Reed Butler walked to lead off the top of the first and KK Mathis brought her home on an RBI single to right-center field, giving the Dukes a 1-0 lead.Â
- A pair of double plays ended App State's rallies in the first two innings, as a 1-2-3 double play stranded the bases loaded and kept the score at 1-0 through two innings.Â
- App State took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the third inning on a pair of wild pitches.Â
- With a pair of runners on with two outs, a spectacular catch from Addie Wray in center robbed Madison Edwards of extra bases and ended the JMU scoring threat.Â
- List fanned her third batter of the game in the bottom of the fourth, ending the inning with a groundout to Campbell at shortstop.Â
- H.Hall launched a two-run home run to give the Dukes a 3-2 lead in the top of the fifth, scoring Butler, who singled.Â
- Lexi Rogers pushed a one-out single through in the top of the sixth, and Campbell hit her third long ball of the season to extend the JMU lead to 5-2.Â
- The Mountaineers scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh, but a lineout to Hall in right ended the game and gave the Dukes their seventh straight win.Â
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Game Two: James Madison 8, App State 2
- J.Hall reached on an error before Butler walked with two outs in the top of the third, but yet another diving catch in center from Wray robbed the Dukes of a pair of runs and kept the game scoreless.
- App State scored first, notching an RBI single to make the score 1-0 in the bottom of the third.
- A pair of solo home runs from List and Henzler gave the Dukes a 2-1 lead in the top of the fourth.
- The Mountaineers added a run in the bottom half on a JMU error, evening the game at 2-2.
- A fielder's choice RBI from Butler and a two-run home run from H.Hall extended the Dukes lead to 5-2 in the top of the fifth.
- J.Hall hit JMU's 10th home run of the weekend to cushion JMU's lead to 6-2 in the top of the sixth.
- An RBI double from Rogers and a sacrifice fly from J.Hall gave the Dukes their last two runs of the game (8-2).
- Humphrey picked up her second save of the day and fourth of the season, working around a pair of singles to secure the 8-2 win.
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Game Notes
- In its 5-4 victory, JMU improved to 4-5 in one-run games this season.Â
- Humphrey's two saves gave her four for the season and nine in her career, tying her with Jailyn Ford for the second most in school history.Â
- Over its eight-game winning streak, JMU has scored 67 runs and hit 23 home runs.Â
- Henzler's 11 home runs are tied for third in the Sun Belt.Â
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Up Next
The Dukes will stay on the road as they travel to Statesboro, Ga., April 26-28 for a three-game series with Georgia Southern.
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