Butler and Edwards Lead Offense, Dukes Take Series Opener Against Southern Miss

Thursday, April 17

Harrisonburg, Va.

5 p.m.

James Madison University

20-21, 6-10

Southern Miss

20-23, 7-8

Southern Miss

James Madison

Butler and Edwards Lead Offense, Dukes Take Series Opener Against Southern Miss

4/17/2025 10:40:00 PM | Softball

Box Score Photo Gallery

HARRISONBURG, Va. – Reed Butler and Madison Edwards combined for eight RBI as James Madison softball pulled away from Southern Miss to take the series opener in a 12-4 six-inning run-rule victory on Thursday evening in Sun Belt Conference play at Veterans Memorial Park.

Headed into the bottom of the fifth inning JMU (20-21, 6-10 SBC) led Southern Miss (20-23, 7-8 SBC) 5-4, and then went on to score seven unanswered runs, including two home runs by Edwards and Butler to cap off the night for the Dukes.

Butler led the offense with two hits, including the game-tying RBI single in the bottom of the third. She finished the night going 2-for-3, scoring two runs and driving in three.

Edwards' five-RBI performance sets a career-high, as she smacked her fourth home run, for three of her five runs driven in to push the advantage to four over the Lady Eagles.

Cali Legzdin registered her seventh double of the season, along with stealing two bases to break the single-season freshman record for stolen bases with 18.

Raegan Wall produced her second triple of the 2025 campaign to put the exclamation mark on the evening, scoring Edwards to end the game in run-rule fashion.

The pitching duo of Payton List and Kirsten Fleet combined to allow zero earned runs, on two hits en route to List's eighth win of the season, while Fleet got her second save.

Carrie Green and Shelby Allen were responsible for the two hits for USM, as it mustered up
just two infield singles in six innings of action.

How It Happened

First Inning

Southern Miss loaded the bases on three walks and all three came around to score on a JMU fielding error

Second Inning

Edwards gets the Dukes' first run on an RBI groundout, making it 3-1
Wall and Legzdin pulled off a double steal, as Legzdin stole home to make it a one-run ballgame, 3-2

Third Inning

With one out and a runner on, Butler tied the game up at three apiece with an RBI single down the right-field line to score List
A bases-loaded wild pitch gave way to the Dukes' fourth run to lead Southern Miss 4-3
Edwards makes it 5-3 with a sacrifice fly to left center, capping off the three-spot in the third

Top of the Fifth Inning

Green reached on a fielder's choice, then the runner on third scored on a JMU throwing error, making it another one-run ballgame at 5-4

Bottom of the Fifth Inning

Edwards launched a three-run home run to left center to push the Dukes ahead 8-4

Sixth Inning

Butler drove a ball over the left field fence to bring the Dukes to double digits, leading 10-4, still with no outs
Legzdin scored the 11th run for the Dukes on a Southern Miss fielding error, as Edwards reached first
Wall tripled to left center, as Edwards scored to finish off the walk-off run-rule win for James Madison, 12-4

Game Notes

James Madison earned its first win over Southern Miss in regular-season conference play in its first meeting, as it improves to 2-1 in the all-time series
With her RBI single in the bottom of the third, Butler amassed 150 hits in her career, putting her aside teammate Jasmine Hall as the only active Dukes to eclipse 150-plus hits in their careers. The duo is also the only pair of active players to appear in 150 games or more
Fleet picked up the third save of her career, tying her with Cara Stecher (2010-12) for 10th all-time in program history
Edwards' five-RBI game matches the most in a game this year by a Duke, Hall had five RBI against Radford on March 8
The Dukes are 8-2 in 2025 when they hit two or more home runs in a game
Lily Romero caught her 11th runner stealing, which leads all of the Sun Belt
JMU notched its seventh run-rule victory of the season, and its second in as many games. The Dukes last had run-rule victories in back-to-back games on March 10, 2024, when they defeated Binghamton and Saint Joseph's by scores of 9-1 and 16-5 in five innings, respectively
Abbie Campbell extended her hitting streak to five-straight games, matching her career-high
Legzdin's two-stolen base day was her fifth game this season with two-plus steals