HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Despite a four-run sixth inning to cut the deficit to one, James Madison softball could not overcome a 7-2 Marshall lead, as the Thundering Herd completed the sweep of the Dukes by a score of 7-6 in Sun Belt Conference action on Sunday afternoon at Veterans Memorial Park.
JMU (11-16, 0-6 SBC) led 2-1 going into the top of the fourth inning, until Marshall (19-13, 5-1 SBC) took the lead for good, scoring two in the frame.
Payton List went 2-for-3 at the plate, her 13th multi-hit game of the season. Her two-run single in the sixth inning pushed the Dukes into a comeback position, ultimately falling short.
Reed Butler extended her hitting streak to a season-high five games, contributing the RBI single which made Sunday’s contest a one-run ballgame with two outs in the sixth.
Brooklyn Ulrich could not be stopped for Marshall, as she went 3-for-5 at the plate, driving in one and coming around to score once. Rielly Lucas hit her fourth home run of the three-game set to tie the game in the fourth, putting the Thundering Herd in prime territory to take the lead.
Jules King shut the door on Marshall’s sweep, earning her first save of the season by throwing a hitless seventh inning, and striking out a pair.
How It Happened
Top of the Third Inning
•     Marshall scored its first run of the game on a two-out JMU fielding error to lead 1-0
Bottom of the Third Inning
•     With a runner on third and two away, Kylee Gleason rocketed a single up the middle to knot things up at one
•     Edwards reached on a Marshall fielding error with the bases loaded to bring in the second JMU run of the inning, 2-1
Fourth Inning
•     Chandler Hoskins tied the ballgame up at two with a solo shot to left-center
•     Three batters later, Brooklyn Ulrich singled up the middle to put the Thundering Herd ahead, 3-2
Fifth Inning
•     Diamond Leslie tacked on another run on a bases-loaded RBI single up the middle to make it 4-2
•     Haleigh Adkins drove in two more on an infield single to first base
Top of the Sixth Inning
•     Rielly Lucas extends Marshall’s lead to 7-2 with a scolding shot to right field for a solo home run
Bottom of the Sixth Inning
•     Jasmine Hall doubled to left center to score Wall from second to cut the lead to 7-3
•     After Gleason singled to shortstop with two out, List singled up the middle to score two and edge the Dukes closer, 7-5
•     Reed Butler singled up the middle to score List, making it a one-run ballgame in the sixth
Game Notes
•     James Madison was swept in back-to-back conference series for the first time since falling to Hofstra and Drexel on April 16-17, 2011, and April 30- May 1, 2011, respectively.
•     After her pitching performance on Sunday, List needs four more strikeouts to reach 100 total in her career at JMU
•     List also earned her seventh multi-RBI game of 2025, along with her 13th multi-hit game.
•     With her RBI double in the sixth, Hall needs six more to tie Jenn Chavez (2005-08) for 10th all-time in program history with 38 doubles. She is also 13 RBI away from 100 in her career
•     The Dukes did not record a home run in its three-game series with the Thundering Herd, bringing the team to 0-13 when it does not hit a home run in a game this season
— JMU Athletics —