BOONE, N.C. – In the middle game of App State Softball's series against James Madison, the Dukes powered up on back-to-back home runs in the second inning to take an early lead and never looked back, as they defeated App State 9-3 on Saturday at Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium.
KB Bradshaw provided a stellar game at the dish for the Mountaineers (26-17, 5-12 SBC), as she drove in all three of App State's runs with a two-run single in the fourth and a solo home run in the seventh. Bradshaw was the only Mountaineer on Saturday to record a multi-hit game against James Madison (21-21, 8-9 SBC), as the Dukes carried a no-hitter into the fourth inning and allowed just five hits for the game.
How it Happened
JMU generated a scoring threat almost immediately, as the Dukes' lead-off hitter drove a double into right field to open the contest. Facing early trouble,
Bel Varadi, who made her first start at home in her career on Saturday, did well to strand the runner as she retired the next three hitters to end the inning.
The Mountaineers went down quietly in their half of the first, and James Madison swatted back-to-back home runs in the second to take the lead. App State went down in order in the bottom of the second, but
Camryn Fisher, who came on to pitch in the second, kept the Dukes off the board in the third to keep the score within two as play entered the fourth.
After App State failed to score in the third, James Madison extended its lead with a five-spot in the top of the fourth. The Mountaineers responded in the bottom of the fourth with a pair of runs thanks to a two-out, two-RBI single into right field by Bradshaw, which sent action to the fifth with the Mountaineers trailing by five.
Both sides went quietly in their next two at-bats, and James Madison widened its lead out to seven for the second time in the game with a two-run home run in the top of the final inning. Bradshaw answered with her sixth home run of the season to lead off the bottom of the inning, but despite seeing singles by
Emilie Ching and
Taylor Schafer with two outs, the Dukes forced a groundout to short to end the threat and the game.
Saturday Notes
Home runs
App: Bradshaw (6)
JMU: LeGrand (8), Legzdin (7), Ortega (3)
WP: Taylor Johnson (7-7): 4 IP, 1 hit, 2 runs (0 earned runs), 2 walks, 0 strikeouts
SV: Kirsten Fleet (2)
LP:
Bel Varadi (0-2): 4.2 IP, 10 hits, 5 runs, 0 walks, 1 strikeout
Up Next
App State and James Madison will meet in the rubber game of this three-game series on Sunday. First pitch from Sywassink/Lloyd Family Stadium is slated for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
