James Madison University | Official Athletics Site
Tuesday, March 4
Lynchburg, Va.
4 p.m.
James Madison University
6-9
1
at
2
Liberty
17-4
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
James Madison
0
0
0
1
0
0
0
1
6
1
Liberty
0
0
1
0
1
0
X
2
8
1
Dukes Lose Hard Fought Battle Against Liberty
3/4/2025 7:02:00 PM | Softball
LYNCHBURG, Va.- Â Tied at one heading into the fifth inning, James Madison softball could not stop Liberty's Savannah Woodard as she hit the go-ahead home run in the fifth, as the Dukes lost a hard-fought game, 2-1, on Tuesday night in Lynchburg.
Woodard accounted for both runs for Liberty (17-4), with a sacrifice fly in the third and the go-ahead solo shot in the fifth.
Reed Butler had an all-out effort for JMU (6-9) on both sides of the ball, contributing the lone Dukes run on an RBI single and then saving a run from scoring with a diving catch in left center field.
Kylee Gleason earned her third multi-hit game of the season with two hits, as she extended her hitting streak to a team-best four games.
Kirsten Fleet allowed five hits on two earned runs in five innings pitched and Madalyn Johnson came on in relief to pitch a scoreless sixth and keep it a one-run ball game.
Paige Bachman earned her first save of the season for the Flames, pitching two innings of two-hit ball. The senior escaped James Madison runners on second and third to close out the game in the seventh. Â
How It Happened
Third Inning
Woodard accounted for both runs for Liberty (17-4), with a sacrifice fly in the third and the go-ahead solo shot in the fifth.
Reed Butler had an all-out effort for JMU (6-9) on both sides of the ball, contributing the lone Dukes run on an RBI single and then saving a run from scoring with a diving catch in left center field.
Kylee Gleason earned her third multi-hit game of the season with two hits, as she extended her hitting streak to a team-best four games.
Kirsten Fleet allowed five hits on two earned runs in five innings pitched and Madalyn Johnson came on in relief to pitch a scoreless sixth and keep it a one-run ball game.
Paige Bachman earned her first save of the season for the Flames, pitching two innings of two-hit ball. The senior escaped James Madison runners on second and third to close out the game in the seventh. Â
How It Happened
Third Inning
- Following a triple to center by Liberty's Savanah Whatley, second baseman Savannah Woodard hit a sacrifice fly to bring her home for the Flames' first run.
- Reed Butler tied the game at one apiece with an RBI single to left center, scoring Raegan Wall from third
- Woodard struck again, this time with a solo shot to right center to put the Flames back up by one.
- James Madison moves to 15-11 all-time against Liberty and 1-9 in Lynchburg
- After Tuesday's contest, the Dukes are 0-3 in games this season in which they are tied going into the fifth inning
- Gleason has a six-game on-base streak, the fourth five-plus on-base streak for a Duke this season. Madison Edwards previously had a seven-game streak, and Cali Legzdin also reached base six straight games this season
- Jasmine Hall played in her 150th game at James Madison on Tuesday, joining Butler as the only two current Dukes to play in 150 games at JMU in their careers Â
- Butler has recorded an RBI in five of the last seven contests, which leads the team
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: ESCOBAR, Elena (5-1)
L: Fleet, Kirsten (3-3)
S: BACHMAN, Paige (1)
Batting:
RBI: Butler, Reed 1
SH: Romero, Lily 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Wall, Raegan 1
SB: Wall, Raegan 1 ; Butler, Reed 1
Batting:
2B: ROUPE, Rachel 1
3B: WHATLEY, Savanah 1
HR: WOODARD, Savannah 1
RBI: WOODARD, Savannah 2
SF: WOODARD, Savannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: WOODARD, Savannah 1 ; WHATLEY, Savanah 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
2
R
0
H
1
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ SoftballOF
/ Softball
INF
/ Softball
RHP
/ Softball
UTL
/ Softball
OF
/ SoftballJMU Softball | Dukes Advance to 2025 Sun Belt Title Game
Saturday, May 10
JMU Softball | Recap vs. Texas State
Monday, June 03
JMU Softball | Weiler Orthodontics Invitational Recap
Monday, June 03
JMU Softball | Recap vs. Marshall
Monday, June 03
