Raleigh, N.C. – James Madison earned its fifth straight win at the Wolfpack Classic Sunday afternoon, defeating host NC State in an eight-inning offensive battle that ended in a 14-11 JMU victory.

James Madison improves its overall record to 8-3 while NC State drops to 5-10.

Every player in the Dukes’ lineup recorded at least one hit to help secure the win. Freshman second baseman KK Mathis led the way with a 5-5 day at the plate, including a homer, a double and four RBIs. Junior designated player Hannah Hennessy drove in six runs herself as part of a 3-5 day that also included a home run and a double.

Junior Alissa Humphrey handled things in the circle until the sixth inning when winning pitcher sophomore Rebecca Muh entered the circle. Humphrey later reentered the game in the bottom of the eighth to earn the save.

Humphrey dealt six innings of work while striking out eight batters and only allowing five hits.

First Inning
Graduate student Hannah Shifflett put the Dukes on the scoreboard first when she knocked a ball out of the park on the first pitch of the game and Mathis later doubled to score graduate student Hallie Hall to put the Dukes up by two. Hennessy then doubled and reached third on a fielding error to put the Dukes up by four.

Second Inning
NC State answered back with a 3-run home run to make the deficit one run, then added another run from a single to tie the game at 4-4.

Third Inning
Freshman Bella Henzler singled to second base to score Mathis for the go-ahead run. Freshman Kate Carrier then drove Henzler in to put the Dukes up by two.

The Wolfpack fired back once again with a solo home run to cut the lead in half.

Fourth Inning
Shifflett led off with a single, while Hallie Hall popped up but reached base from a fielding error, allowing Shifflett to score. Mathis then drilled a two-run bomb to push the Dukes’ advantage back to four runs.

Fifth Inning
The Wolfpack pulled within two runs in the bottom of the fifth inning after multiple JMU miscues made the score 9-7.

Sixth Inning
Hennessy doubled to left field to add two more runs to the lead, making the score 11-7, before NC State added two more runs in the bottom half to put the lead back to 11-9.

Seventh Inning
After a scoreless top half of the inning, NC State did not go quietly in its last at-bat, hitting a two-run home run with no outs to tie things up. The Wolfpack loaded the bases after that, but the Dukes cut down the tying run with one out and escaped to force extra innings.

Eighth Inning
Mathis put the Dukes up early, driving in sophomore Kylee Gleason with one out to take the lead. Hennessy then put the game out of reach with a two-run homer that made it 14-11.

The Dukes won five straight in-season tournament games for the first time since competing in the Malihini Kipa Aloha Tournament in Honolulu, Hawaii during the 2018 season.

The Dukes return to the diamond on Saturday, March 4 to begin play at the Carolina Classic against Purdue at 10 a.m.

— JMU Athletics —