HARRISONBURG, Va. (JMU Athletics) – Senior Alissa Humphrey tallied her 500th career strikeout, but a late rally by James Madison softball came up short as the Dukes dropped their series opener to Coastal Carolina, 8-7, on Thursday afternoon at Bank of the James Field at Veterans Memorial Park.

Humphrey became the fifth player in program history to eclipse 500 or more punchouts – joining Megan Good (900), Jailyn Ford (815), Odicci Alexander (712), and Meredith Felts (581). She also became the fifth pitcher in program history to appear in 100 games and log 500 strikeouts.

Coastal Carolina (33-19, 13-9 SBC) finished with eight runs, nine hits, and an error, while JMU (29-20, 11-11 SBC) tallied seven runs, eight hits, and an error.

Payton List led the Dukes at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a home run, walk, and three RBI. It is the 11th game List has finished with multiple RBI, which leads JMU. Reed Butler raised her season batting average to .416 with a 2-for-3 effort that included a home run, two walks, and two RBI. Lexi Rogers lifted her fifth home run of 2024 and finished 1-for-4.

How It Happened
• The Dukes loaded the bases in the bottom of the first on a pair of walks and a single, but a flyout to right field ended the scoring threat and kept the game scoreless after one inning.
• Coastal got on the board in the top of the second as an RBI single to the pitcher brought home a runner.
• After JMU was retired in order in the bottom of the second, the Chanticleers added another run on an RBI groundout, increasing their lead to 2-0 after 2.5 innings.
• Butler walked, Hallie Hall singled, and List lined a two-out home run to left-center field, which gave the Dukes a 3-2 lead in the bottom of the third.
• Coastal responded with four unearned runs in the top of the fourth after a two-out error, taking a 6-3 lead into the bottom of the fourth.
• The Dukes continued to fight in the bottom of the fourth, as Butler skied a two-run home run to left to trim the deficit to 6-5.
• Humphrey picked up the 500th strikeout of her career to lead off the top of the sixth.
• The teams traded zeroes in the fifth, but Coastal smacked back-to-back solo home runs in the top of the sixth to cushion its lead back to three runs (8-5).
• A single and a pair of walks loaded the bases for Bella Henzler in the bottom of the sixth, who was hit by a pitch to score a run. A fielder’s choice ended the inning and kept the score at 8-6 after six frames.
• A leadoff home run from Rogers in the bottom of the seventh cut the lead to 8-7, but a pair of groundouts and a strikeout ended the game and gave Coastal the win in game one.

Game Notes
• Reed Butler’s batting average of .416 would be the fourth-highest in a single season in JMU history. Moreover, Butler’s multi-hit performance is her 22nd of the season.
• JMU fell to 17-1 this season when scoring six or more runs.
• Hallie Hall has now reached safely in 10 straight games.

Up Next
JMU will wrap up its regular season slate with a doubleheader against Coastal Carolina tomorrow, May 3, at 12 p.m. and 3 p.m. Dave Riggert will carry the games on ESPN Harrisonburg (106.9 FM | 1360 AM) and on the Varsity Network App.

— JMU Athletics —