JMU Softball Eliminated from NCAA Tourney

The women of JMU softball dropped a pair of one run games in the NCAA Tournament Lexington Regional yesterday, bringing their stellar 2014 season to an end. After cruising to a 6-1 victory over Depaul in their tourney opener on Friday, the Dukes lost a 2-1 nail biter to Kentucky in the winners bracket on Saturday. The loss to the Wildcats set JMU up for a rematch with Depaul in an elimination game. Unfortunately for the Dukes, Depaul avenged their Friday night loss with a 4-3 win to end JMU’s season. The Dukes finished the season with a 45-15 record and a CAA Championship.

While Saturday’s loss was no doubt disappointing, the ladies have nothing to be ashamed of. They ended Hofstra’s two year reign atop the CAA, made it back to the NCAA tourney for the second straight year, and earned a Top 25 ranking. Plus they had arguably the most impressive win for any JMU sports team this past year when they defeated Oregon, currently the #1 team in the nation, in March. That win over Oregon took place during an extended road trip in Honolulu, Hawaii by the way. So there’s that. Our only real issue with the program is it’s desire to claim “JMUSB” for its own.

Hat’s off to Head Coach Mickey Dean and the entire JMU softball program. Under Coach Dean’s leadership, there really is no limit to how high the program can go. With all due respect to the rest of JMU’s fine coaches, Dean and women’s hoops coach Kenny Brooks are pretty much lapping the field. The softball and women’s hoops programs are both consistently knocking off teams from power conferences and read to become consistent players on the national stage. The way things have gone lately, a small part of me wonders if the ladies couldn’t defeat their JMU male counterparts in basketball and basketball.

Photo courtesy of jmusports.com’s awesome photo gallery (love those helmets)