STATESBORO, Ga. (JMU Athletics) — James Madison softball dropped its first game of Sun Belt Conference play on Friday afternoon, falling 4–2 to Georgia Southern at Eagle Field in Statesboro, Georgia.

Kendra Lewis led the Dukes at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with an RBI and a run scored while in the circle Taylor Johnson moves to 3-3 on the season, tossing 5.2 innings and tallying two strikeouts.

The Eagles (12–12, 1-0 Sun Belt) jumped out to an early lead in the first inning, scoring twice on RBI singles before adding another run in the second to take a 3–0 advantage.
The Dukes (12–12, 0-1 Sun Belt) got on the board in the fifth when Kylee Gleason ripped an RBI triple to right-
center to score Kendra Lewis and cut the deficit to two. Georgia Southern added another run in the sixth after a passed ball allowed a run to score, extending the lead to 4–1.

JMU responded in the seventh as Lewis delivered an RBI single to bring Emma Jo Evans home, but the Dukes couldn’t complete the comeback, falling 4–2 in the conference opener.

James Madison will look to even the series tomorrow at 3 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —