Dukes Take Two From Flames

April 9, 2009 • By Wes Shaw, The Breeze
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After being swept by the visiting Panthers of Georgia State this weekend, Madison took both ends of its doubleheader against the Liberty Flames on Wednesday afternoon.

JMU won game one 4-1 behind a complete-game, four-hitter from senior right-hander Jenny Clohan. She also had an RBI double in Madison’s 2-1 victory in game two. The wins increase the Dukes’ record to 22-11 this season.

Game two’s key play came in the bottom of the sixth inning when a passed ball allowed freshman shortstop Ashley Burnham to advance to third. Sophomore Katie Spitzer then drove Burnham in on a sacrifice fly to right field for the game-winning run.

The two non-conference wins added to the Dukes’ record, but they don’t matter as much as the momentum JMU gains heading into a crucial Colonial Athletic Association series against Towson this weekend.

At 4-6 in conference play, visiting JMU is sixth out of eight teams in the CAA and in desperate need of a series victory against the Tigers. Entering this weekend, Madison is three games behind seven-time defending champion Hofstra and two back of 6-3 Towson.

“They’re a pretty scrappy team, but we’re definitely better and we should take three from them,” JMU senior third baseman Amber Kirk said. “Especially where we’re sitting right now, we need to take three from them.

“These games are really important because they give us momentum going into conference games. Hopefully we can keep our momentum going into Towson and then Drexel and on and on and on.”

Kirk went 0-5 in JMU’s doubleheader Wednesday, but currently leads the Dukes in batting average, RBI, runs, hits and total bases.
“I didn’t really show that today,” Kirk said with a laugh after Madison’s game-one victory when she went 0-3.

JMU’s co-captain is just two doubles shy of tying the school’s all-time record for two-baggers, a title currently held by Jenn Chavez (’08). Chavez belted 38 doubles during her career.

Kirk says she has been putting added pressure on herself in her final season in Harrisonburg, realizing how close she is to her softball career’s conclusion.

“I always say how our lives are gonna change drastically once we’re done,” she said.

Hofstra swept the Dukes in a rain-shortened two game series late last month. The Pride has won the CAA Championship in each of its seven seasons, but may be weaker this year than in the past, according to Kirk.

“They are a completely different team this year,” she said. “We definitely can take them out.”

Contact Wes Shaw at shawwr@jmu.edu

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