OGL Roundup

It’s been a while since we did a traditional Old Guys Leave roundup touching on a few issues at once, but here’s some great Dukes’ vibes to start your week with.

First, Softball is becoming a thing. Not just for us and hard-core JMU dorks like us, or even just for softball people. The Dukes went nuclear (or as one former President would say, nucular) on the hated Blue Chickens over the weekend by mercy-ruling them in all three games in the “series.” JMU is now 37-6 on the year, 14-0 in CAA play, and riding a staggering 28-game winning streak! There appear to be only two questions left in the regular season: 1) Can anyone in the CAA even challenge the Dukes? (Not likely) and 2) Will the national media/selection committee acknowledge the Dukes with a  quality postseason spot, even in the unlikely event they get clipped in the CAA tourney, which is thankfully less likely than other sports since SB is a double-elimination format? (Who knows, but this winning streak has to be putting them on some radars that don’t usually pick up Harrisonburg, VA and Veterans Memorial Park sure would look good for a sub-regional).

Softball has been on such an historic pace that it’s actually overshadowed another Spring team challenging for one of that program’s best seasons. Nationally ranked #18 Lacrosse also beat Delaware over the weekend to push their record out to 12-4 overall and 4-1 in CAA play. The Dukes’ balanced attack helped them pull ahead of Delaware on the field and in the standings as they approach tourney time. JMU (2 seed) and UD (3 seed) are already locked into their CAA tournament spots and will be re-opening this rivalry in the semis in two weeks.

In other GREAT news, Women’s Basketball’s Lady Okafor became the second Dukes player in program history to be drafted in the WNBA. The JMU center was selected in the third round at #34 overall by the Atlanta Dream (the same team that previously drafted JMU star Tamara Young, who has gone on to become a key contributor for the Chicago Sky). This is a huge accomplishment for a player that improved immeasurably during her time under Kenny Brooks’ tutelage.

Finally, don’t forget the Spring game and the Rocktown Beer Festival are both coming up this Saturday in the ‘Burg. Beautiful time of the year and this year the Spring Game is finally allowing tailgating on Godwin Field and in G-Lot!