HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison softball dropped a pair of games to South Alabama on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park, falling 6-0 in game one and 5-2 in game two.

South Alabama (22-15, 6-2 Sun Belt) limited JMU (15-17, 3-5 Sun Belt) to two runs across both games, as the Jaguars scored six runs on 10 hits in game one and five runs on seven hits in game two. The Dukes also committed five errors.

Kendra Lewis launched a two-run home run in game No. 2 and finished 1-for-4 on the day with three walks. Cali Legzdin had a pair of knocks in the second game, finishing 2-for-3.

Kirsten Fleet finished the day with 5.0 innings in the circle, striking out seven batters and yielding just one earned run. For the Jaguars, Ryley Harrison threw a complete game with nine strikeouts in game one before working 3.0 innings and earning a save in game two.

How It Happened
South Alabama 6, James Madison 0
• South Alabama’s Sydney Stewart sparked the offense with aggressive baserunning, stealing second before Gracie McDonald swiped home to open the scoring.
• The Jaguars broke things open in the fourth inning, plating three runs on a Kara Wine RBI single, a sacrifice fly from Stewart, and an RBI knock by Ansleigh Smith.
• The Dukes struggled to generate momentum offensively in the opener, with the Jaguars winning 6-0.

South Alabama 5, James Madison 2
• Lewis launched a two-run home run to left-center in the first inning to give JMU an early 2-0 advantage.
• South Alabama responded quickly, as Presley Lively tripled home a run in the second before Olivia Branstetter tied the game with a solo home run in the third.
• The Jaguars took control in the fifth inning, using a pair of RBI opportunities from Ansleigh Smith and Brooklynn Bockhaus to jump ahead. They added an insurance run in the sixth on Kara Wine’s third RBI hit of the day, sealing the 5-2 victory.

The Dukes will look to bounce back tomorrow, concluding the weekend series against the Jaguars at 12 p.m.

— JMU Athletics —