HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – James Madison softball trailed 5-0 after half an inning but scored seven unanswered runs to secure the Sun Belt Conference series victory over Marshall, 7-5, on Saturday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.

Marshall (20-20, 6-8 SBC) finished the game with five runs and eight hits while committing three errors for the second consecutive day. JMU (23-16, 7-7 SBC) brought home seven runs on seven hits and an error.

Freshman Kirsten Fleet picked up the win in the circle, quieting the Thundering Herd after entering in the first inning. Fleet struck out three batters and scattered five hits across 5.2 innings. At the plate, Bella Henzler broke a 5-5 tie in the bottom of the fifth with her seventh home run of the season, while Payton List recorded two doubles, finishing 2-for-4 with two RBI.

Alissa Humphrey made the 100th appearance of her career, picking up the save. Jasmine Hall collected a double, while KK Mathis finished with two walks.

How It Happened
• Marshall scored five runs on four hits and took advantage of a JMU error to grab a 5-0 after the top of the first.
• The Dukes took advantage of a pair of Herd miscues to score their first run of the game in the bottom of the second, trimming the lead to 5-1.
• JMU scored three more runs in the bottom of the third to cut into the lead once again. Mathis kicked things off with a walk, and List brought her home with an RBI double.
• Henzler smoked an RBI single to center, bringing home List and trimming the lead to 5-3.
• J. Hall finished the bottom of the third with an RBI double down the left field line, scoring Henzler making it 5-4 after three.
• Reed Butler doubled to right-center to tie the game at 5-5 in the bottom of the fourth.
• Henzler picked up hit No. 2 of the day, a solo home run to lead off the sixth and give the Dukes a 6-5 lead.
• JMU plated an insurance run in the bottom of the sixth after Butler singled, advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt from Hallie Hall, and scored on List’s second double of the contest.
• Humphrey picked up her second save of the season to give the Dukes the series victory.

Game Notes
• Butler’s two-hit effort is her 16th multi-hit game of the season, which leads the team.
• The Dukes improved to 13-3 at home this season and 6-2 in league play.
• List has reached in eight straight games and carries a six-game hitting streak. In conference play, the redshirt freshman is hitting .400 with two home runs, four doubles, and 11 RBI.
• As the leadoff batter, Henzler is hitting .522 (24-for-46) this season.
• In conference play, Fleet leads the Dukes with a 2.31 ERA in 36.1 innings pitched.

Up Next
The Dukes aim for the series sweep over the Thundering Herd tomorrow at Noon. The game can be seen on ESPN+ ($) as Corey Spector and Grace McCabe will provide commentary, while Dave Riggert will provide radio coverage through the Varsity Network App and 106.9 FM.

— JMU Athletics —