ORLANDO, Fla. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison softball started its 2025 campaign by falling 2-0 to CSU Bakersfield and 5-0 to NC State at the Black and Gold Classic on Friday at the UCF Softball Complex.

Hannah Hennessy and Abbie Campbell recorded doubles, but the Dukes were held to just four hits on the day as CSU Bakersfield’s (1-2) Bailee Bustos and NC State’s (2-1) Carly Maxton each recorded complete game shutouts.

A bright spot for the Dukes in game one was freshman pitcher, Madalyn Johnson. In her collegiate debut, Johnson came in for Payton List in relief and fanned four batters in 2.2 shutout innings.

How It Happened
CSU Bakersfield 2, JMU 0
First Inning
• With a runner on second and two out, CSU Bakersfield’s Maalia Cherry singled to left field to drive in the game’s first run.
Fifth Inning
• The Roadrunners put another run across the board with an RBI single from Hannah Garcia with two runners on and one out to make it 2-0.
• Johnson limited the damage to just one run as she struck out Karissa Munsey with the bases loaded to end the inning.

NC State, 5 JMU 0
Second Inning
• With the bases loaded and one away, NC State’s Ellie Goins singled through the left side, bringing home two runs. She then advanced to second on a JMU throwing error.
• The Wolfpack continued their scoring with runners on second and third with a sacrifice fly by Tori Ensley to drive in the third run of the inning.
• Goins came around to score on a passed ball to give NC State a 4-0 advantage.
Fourth Inning
• Following a single and two errors, Ensley tacked on another run for the Wolfpack with her second sacrifice fly of the game.

Game Notes
• James Madison was shutout in back-to-back games for the first time since April 15 and April 18, 2018, when the Dukes suffered losses against College of Charleston, 1-0 and Marshall, 7-0, respectively.
• Coach LaPorte drops to 5-3 in season openers in her eight seasons at the helm.
• Emily LeGrand, Kira Ortega, Raegan Wall, and Cali Legzdin all made their JMU debuts.

— JMU Athletics —