JMU Softball With Strong 2024 Start

A 4-1 start with many positives, and a specific area to improve.

JMU Softball had a strong start to the season going 4-1 in Jacksonville this past weekend. Many questions were answered and while the performance was overall a positive, there’s something the Dukes must improve going forward if they hope to pick up much needed wins against stiffer competition to come. 

But let’s start with the positive. In the 4 wins, JMU started 4 different pitchers. Each went at least 4 ⅔ innings, with Kirsten Fleet and Alissa Humphrey posting complete games respectively. In each of these wins, JMU also managed to only give up 1 run, had no errors, and great defense. The Dukes at the plate had no issues getting to the bases, garnering a ton of walks and hits to lead off innings. However, they were unable to blow games open with better situational hitting. Wins are wins of course, but this is something they’ll need to capitalize on moving forward. 

On Sunday, JMU suffered their only loss of the weekend to Southern Miss, a conference foe the Dukes will not face in conference as an opponent this year. Giving up 3 runs, most of any over the weekend, pitching overall was solid, with Payton List and Kirsten Fleet performing well in relief for Molly Grube, but subpar situational hitting would do the Dukes in for the 3-2 loss. JMU left a lot of runners on base throughout the weekend, and did so in this loss, which in the end cost them the game. Moving forward this looks like the area in which the Dukes can improve the most. 

As I said though, a lot more positives came from the weekend. JMU showed off their pitching depth which will be crucial in keeping everyone healthy and provides the coaching staff with diversity of skill moving forward. Defense, particularly by Reed Butler showed off some great plays behind the great pitching while also only committing 1 error as a team over the 5 games. Despite having trouble getting the bulk of runners home, JMU was also on base a TON this weekend. Bella Henzler batted .450 at the top of the order while JMU also had 26 earned walks on the weekend. That is some fantastic plate discipline that they need to translate into runs moving forward. Overall, the lineup was balanced with hitting, so once the Dukes start getting more of them with multiple runners on translating into runs, they’ll be terrifying to play. 

Coming up this weekend at home, JMU’s first tournament in February at home in its history, the Dukes will face a formidable Villanova team, improved Lehigh, and NCAA Tournament participant and in-state rival George Mason. This will be a great opportunity for JMU to improve on the positives from last weekend, and work on situational hitting. This crop of teams is a slight step up in competition, so JMU will need to show improvement if they want to come out of the weekend with a positive result. With their pitching depth, balanced lineup, and great defense, JMU should be favored in each game this weekend. That said, good luck ever betting a sure thing when it comes to diamond sports. Overall, a great start to the season for JMU Softball so let’s keep it going!

Go Dukes!