HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – The James Madison softball team won its fourth and fifth straight games on Tuesday, sweeping a doubleheader from Longwood by scores of 10-7 and 8-2 at Bank of The James Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

JMU, now 26-16, jumped out to a 6-0 lead in game one but saw its lead evaporate as Longwood (14-27) scored seven straight to take a 7-6 lead. Kirsten Fleet (8-3) picked up her eighth win of the season, quieting the Lancers and allowing the Dukes to score three unanswered to take the first game. In game two, Alissa Humphrey struck out seven, and the Dukes pulled away for an 8-2 win.

The bats continued to be the story for JMU, as the Dukes piled up 18 runs, 24 hits, five home runs, and three doubles in the pair of wins. JMU has won its last five games, averaging 8.8 runs per contest in that span.

Bella Henzler finished the day 3-for-8 with two home runs and five RBI, both team highs. Reed Butler, who was named Sun Belt Player of the Week on Tuesday, boosted her season batting average to .416 with a 5-for-8 (.625) effort on the day. KK Mathis recorded four hits to move to 97 in her career, while Madison Edwards, Hallie Hall, and Jasmine Hall also hit home runs.

How It Happened
Game One: James Madison 10, Longwood 7
• After Mathis lined her 13th double of the season, Payton List singled her in to give the Dukes a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
• Edwards hit her second home run of the season in the bottom of the second, extending the Dukes lead to 3-0.
• H. Hall padded JMU’s lead with a three-run home run to right center, blowing the game open and giving the Dukes a 6-0 lead after two.
• Longwood fought back, scoring five runs in the top of the third on four hits, which included a home run.
• The Lancers would take a 7-6 lead in the top of the fourth on a home run from Kaylei DeVivi, capping off the six-run comeback.
• Henzler would launch a home run in the bottom of the fifth, a two-run shot that gave the Dukes the lead right back (8-7).
• JMU added a pair of insurance runs in the bottom of the sixth: a Mathis RBI single and an RBI groundout from List.
• Fleet completed her 3.2 innings of scoreless relief with two groundouts and a popup, giving the Dukes the 10-7 win.

Game Two: James Madison 8, Longwood 2
• JMU grabbed a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a passed ball following hits from Reed Butler and KK Mathis and a walk from List.
• Butler picked up an RBI single in the bottom of the second, scoring Lexi Rogers and pushing the Dukes’ lead to 2-0.
• Longwood scratched across a run in the top of the third on a trio of singles, trimming the JMU lead to 2-1.
• J. Hall gave the Dukes that run right back in the bottom of the third on her fifth home run of the season (3-1).
• A Lancers home run in the top of the fourth cut the JMU lead to 3-2 and chased starter Rebecca Muh from the game after 3.0 innings.
• Humphrey picked up a pair of strikeouts in the top of the fifth, and Henzler gunned down a steal attempt at third to end the fifth inning and keep the score at 3-1.
• Edwards lifted an RBI triple to right center and scored on a throwing error from Longwood, giving the Dukes a 5-2 advantage through five.
• After Humphrey kept the Lancers off the board in the top of the sixth, Henzler launched her second home run of the day, a three-run shot that scored List and pinch-runner Lauren Fulton and extended the lead to 8-2.
• Humphrey picked up her sixth and seventh strikeouts of the game to finish off Longwood and give the Dukes their fifth straight victory.

Game Notes
• JMU moved to 17-3 at home this season, averaging 8.3 runs per game.
• Butler is hitting .500 (33-for-66) at home this season.
• The Dukes have now hit two or more home runs in four of the last five games.
• Humphrey’s seven strikeouts moved her career total to 489.

Up Next
The Dukes will travel to Boone, N.C., to begin a three-game Sun Belt series with App State on Friday.

— JMU Athletics —