No. 22 Lady Flames Edge JMU 2-1

LYNCHBURG, Va. - Liberty senior Savannah Woodard accounted for both runs, including a go-ahead fifth-inning homer as the Lady Flames edged James Madison, 2-1, Tuesday at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium.

The Lady Flames, ranked No. 22 by Softball America this week, improve to 17-4 on the season with their fifth win in a row. James Madison (6-9) had been 6-2 in its last eight game before falling to Liberty today.

Liberty 2, James Madison 1
Scoring Summary
Liberty – 3^rd INNING – Woodard sacrifice fly, Whatley scores, 1-0
JMU – 4^th INNING – Butler singles to left center, Wall scores, 1-1
Liberty – 5^th INNING – Woodard homers to right center, 2-1

Turning Point

The teams went back and forth, as Liberty took a 1-0 lead on a Savannah Woodard sacrifice fly in the bottom of the third. JMU responded in the top of the fourth, with Reed Butler hitting a game-tying RBI single. After a bunt base hit, Jasmine Hall lined into a double play to end the inning.
Woodard's homer with two outs in the bottom of the fifth proved to be the difference, and then Paige Bachman pitched two scoreless innings for the save.

Notable Numbers

Liberty outhit James Madison 8-6, with both teams committing an error. Each team left five runners on base as well.
Elena Escobar (5-1) earned the win, allowing one unearned run on four hits, walking one and fanning three in five innings. Bachman claimed her first save of the season, yielding two hits and striking out two in two innings of work.
Kirsten Fleet (3-3) drew the loss, giving up two runs on five hits and fanning one in five innings before giving way to Madalyn Johnson.
Rachel Roupe, KK Madrey and Paige Doerr all went 2-for-3. Roupe doubled, Savanah Whatley tripled, and Savannah Woodard homered and drove in two runs.
For JMU, Kylee Gleason went 2-for-3.

Beyond the Box Score

JMU leads Liberty 15-11 in the all-time series. However, the Lady Flames have won each of the last two meetings.
The Lady Flames are 5-2 in one-run games so far this season.
With 399 career wins, Dot Richardson needs one more victory to become the second head coach in Liberty softball history (also Paul Wetmore, 1994-2013) with 400 or more career victories.
Liberty is 9-1 at home this season.
The Lady Flames extended their winning streak to five games. It is the team's second winning streak of five or more games so far this year (also opened the season with an 8-0 record)

Up Next
The Lady Flames bring their 13-game homestand to a close this weekend, hosting CUSA newcomer Kennesaw State in a three-game series, Friday through Sunday.

Schedule

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Team Stats

Rachel Roupe

Paige Doerr

KK Madrey

Savannah Woodard

Players Mentioned

Paige Bachman

Paige Doerr

Elena Escobar

KK Madrey

Rachel Roupe

Savanah Whatley

Savannah Woodard