HARRISONBURG, Va. – James Madison softball outlasted Troy in a 10-7 victory to secure the series on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park. With the win, the Dukes hand the Trojans their first Sun Belt Conference series loss of the 2023 season.

JMU advanced to 24-13 overall and 8-7 in Sun Belt Conference play while Troy dropped to 29-13-1 with a 10-4-1 record in league action.

Freshman Kylah Berry picked up her ninth win of the season in the circle, throwing for four innings. She recorded four strikeouts, two walks, and yielded four hits during her time on the mound.

Freshman Bella Henzler led the way at the plate with three hits, three RBI’s, and scored one run, while redshirt junior Reed Butler barreled up a grand slam, raked in four RBI’s, and scored two runs.

Graduate student Hallie Hall, junior Kylee Gleason, and freshman KK Mathis also tallied a hit during today’s win.

How It Happened
• The Dukes got out to an early lead from a pair of back-to-back home runs by Henzler and H. Hall to put the Dukes ahead 3-0 in the bottom of the first inning.
• In the third inning, Butler smacked a grand slam over left field to give the Dukes a 7-0 advantage.
• Troy’s Anslee Finch and Kennedi Gaton scored two runs in the top of the fourth from an RBI single up the middle and one sacrifice fly.
• Henzler singled to left center field to push Mathis across in the bottom of the fourth inning.
• Libby Baker added two more runs for the Trojans by hitting a two-run home run in the top of the fifth inning.
• In the bottom of the fifth, Mathis registered a two-run home run over left field to extend JMU’s lead to 10 runs.
• Audra Thompson added another run for Troy, a solo shot in the top of the sixth to make the score 10-5.
• Anslee Finch concluded Troy’s scoring with a two-run home down the left field line.

Game Notes
• The Dukes tied its season best of four home runs in a game twice this weekend (4/14, 4/16).
• JMU noted 10 home runs throughout the Troy series.
• Butler’s grand slam was the first of her career. (4/16)
• The squad turned a season-high two double-plays in one game. (4/15)
• The Dukes launched two back-to-back home runs in back-to-back games (4/15, 4/16).

Up Next
The Dukes will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to face Virginia on Tuesday, April 18 at 6 p.m. The game will be streamed on ACC Network.

— JMU Athletics —