JMU Softball had a disappointing end to its season last weekend, bowing out of the tournament with a loss to Baylor. But everyone associated with the program got a much needed pick-me-up yesterday. Megan Good was named one of the 3 finalists for the 2017 USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year. Not, CAA player of the year, regional player of the year, or some sort of sliced and diced non-P5 player of the year. But the actual honest to goodness National Player of the Year. It’s kind of a big deal.
Joining Megan as finalists are Kelly Barnhill, as sophomore pitcher from Florida, and Meghan Gregg, a junior infielder from Tennessee. All three nominees are well deserving. Good, as you all know, was lights out from the circle and from the plate all season. She amassed a 38-3 and 0.63 ERA as a pitcher. She also had a 70.1 inning scoreless streak and 14 shutouts. Pretty good year even without considering her batting. But we must, so it’s worth noting she also hit .383 with 12 homers.
Barnhill and Gregg put up similarly gaudy numbers. Barnhill lead the nation with a 0.35 ERA for the #1 overall seed Florida Gators. Gregg was the SEC player of the year and lead that league in pretty much any offensive stat you can think of. She can rake. It’s anyone’s guess who will actually win the award, but there’s no doubt that all 3 had amazing seasons and are deserving of the honor.
Good still has one more season left and she’s already going down as an all time great JMU athlete. If next year is anything close to (or better than) this year, she could cement herself as the JMU G.O.A.T. But that’s not something to worry about now. Just another reason to look forward to more JMU sports next year.
What a program!
There’s no easy way to say this, but the JMU Softball team met a cruel ending to another impressive season. They fell 1-0 to an on-fire pitcher from Baylor who threw here second no hitter of the Waco Regional on Sunday. The Dukes beat Oregon St. 3-2 with a great comeback Friday evening and then fell to Baylor 4-2 in a game they led most of the way early Saturday. That night the bats finally woke up and the Dukes eliminated Kent St. 4-0 to set up a rematch (or two) with Baylor on Sunday. And Sunday’s game was a tough way to go.
The Bears scored the game’s only run with a runner scrambling home on a wild pitch on a pitch that was really a pitch-out. Baylor’s Gia Rodoni, who had no-hit Kent St. on Friday, did it again to the Dukes on Sunday though not without late-inning fight and drama from the Dukes as we always expect. After Megan Good was hit by a pitch with one out in the bottom of the event (JMU was the home team in what would’ve been game 1 of 2 had the Dukes won), senior Taylor Newton drove a long fly ball to left that had us jumping off the couch thinking the Dukes might’ve walked off, but Bears’ CF and Big 12 defensive player of the year Jessie Scroggins made an unbelievable catch at the wall to essentially end the Dukes season.
It sucked. And yes, the Dukes should’ve hosted a regional (yes, the CAA and its relative lack of competition is a killer, but for the record their is no realistic conference for JMU that would be better in this sport). But there is absolutely NOTHING for this incredible team and program to hang their heads about. First a HUGE thank you to seniors Niki Prince, Taylor Newton, Madison Moran, Tahli Moore, Mimi Morris, and Casie Hill who have been around to elevate the program from pretty good to serious national contender. These players have been incredible in the way they’ve played on the field, but just as much in the way they’ve represented JMU throughout their tenure.
Also a quick note on Megan Good. She might not have had her all-world best but she battled her ass off and there’s no doubt she has joined Dawn Evans and Rodney Landers on our personal Mt. Rushmore of Dukes. This team just needs to get her some more help on offense and not leave all the pressure on her shoulders. We’re also hopeful Odicci “CC” Alexander or some unknown freshman phenom can give her a wing-woman like she used to have in Jailyn Ford.
And finally, as tough as this weekend was to take, let’s all remember that Ms. Good is back for her senior year and that four freshmen played huge roles on this team, meaning there’s nothing in the world wrong with being excited already about next February when Coach Dean and company crank it up for what we believe will be a run to Oklahoma City. Well done ladies!
And with that, the 2016-17 year of JMU Athletics comes to a close. We can’t say we won’t be a little more intermittent than usual over the summer silly season, but we’ve got some ideas for JMUSB to keep your appetites whetted until Labor Day Weekend when the Dukes destroy another purple FBS team in EZU (hopefully with all coaching attire featuring the new JMU logo/font). Go Dukes!
Chase Kiddy is a JMU alum living in working in the ‘burg. He’s been fortunate enough to catch many of JMU softball’s games live and in person, so he agreed to write a tourney preview for us. Give him a follow at @chasekiddy if your own the twitters.
So here we are. It’s a warm Wednesday in the Valley, and JMU softball is playing late into May. Again.
This time, though, it’s a little different. This morning, the Dukes weren’t basking in the Valley sun, rolling out of bed with nothing but J’s Bagels on their minds. Instead, they were flying out of Dulles down to Texas, where they’ll play in 15th-seeded Baylor’s Waco regional.
Let’s get this out of the way early. JMU (and Minnesota) got screwed out of regional bids. It’s not an all-time sports travesty or anything, but the seeding is noticeably odd. I’m not going to cry. We shouldn’t pout and send nasty tweets to the NCAA. But it’s worth being said, out loud, that this seeding is a bit silly.
I want to be fair to the committee. This year’s group placed a mega-premium on quality wins, and that clearly impacted the Dukes’ regional selection. A lot of it isn’t even really anyone’s fault; teams that were supposed to be good wins for JMU ended up being duds. The only really great win JMU ended up with by year’s end was Megan Good’s 1-0 shutout win over Auburn.
With that being said, it’s funny to watch a team like Kentucky — a 36-17 team with no impressive non-conference wins that lost SEC series to the likes of Ole Miss and Georgia, among others, — prepare to host a regional, while the Dukes fly halfway across the country.
But why spend so much time crying over spilt milk? The regionals have been decided for three days now. Where’s the value in it?
It’s worth noting that JMU is a team that, on occasion, will play angry. By now, maybe you’ve heard of this Megan Good character that dons the purple jersey. Megan, in particular, is a player who it seems like physically changes her demeanor when she gets pissed off about something. I’ve seen it dating back to last season, and I saw it as recently as last Friday, when Megan took a line drive off her leg early in the championship game against Hofstra. Mickey motioned for Cici to head to the bullpen and start warming up, as a precaution; Megan responded by shaking him off and adding five or six miles per hour on her fastball for the next two innings. read more…
So the few of you who have been with us for the long haul in this little dorkfest/project we call JMUSB may remember we used to have more fire. Or at least we ranted incoherently and blindly threw shade at the administration more often. Over the last few years, we mellowed a bit for many reasons. Partly we got older. Rob is raising two great little Dukes fans and realized there’s more to life than being pissed at another Sherm Dillard debacle on a Tuesday. I started working in higher education at another school and gained sympathy for those administrators balancing a hundred different priorities after being on the other side. TV rights fees dried up in college sports, especially for the paltry FBS conferences we once aspired to join and JMU’s odd/misguided/accidental decision to invest in FCS power somehow seems to be looking better and better by the month as its become inarguable that from a pride/success/exposure angle schools like JMU and NDSU have clearly come out smelling like a rose the last two years and the FBS vs. FCS decision has simmered down as we all wait for the next big sea -change in college football. And most importantly of all, with the exception of men’s hoops, JMU has been absolutely crushing things in competition. Football, Softball, Women’s Hoops, Lax, Field Hockey, and the great Olivia Lehman have all been outstanding and that’s definitely forgetting a few. The incredible kids – on and off the field – that JMU has been producing and the at-least-from-the-outside appearance that the school is delivering on its promise to be a model for the student-athlete experience have made us truly proud to be Dukes. And on a personal level, some of the young, way-hipper-than-we-are Duke Club staff realized we might be turned back to the light and convinced to be a force for good. It made us feel incredible and the friends we’ve been so fortunate to make simply by keeping this thing going allowed us to deliver on that hope in our own minuscule way. Hell, they even gave us a “major award.” We started to feel almost like the apologists we so closely guarded ourselves against becoming for so long.
But to borrow from Mr. Madison’s predecessor as commander-in-chief and the founder of that school over the mountain where all the football players want to transfer and be Dukes these days, every so often the tree of anger must be refreshed with the blood of terrible and uninformed faculty decisions. And with one move last week primarily executed by JMU’s venerated School of Music, I’m back baby. Yelling, kicking, and losing my shit with little actual information just like the old days. Well, as best as I can these days when a circumstance requires comment but may not really have one true villian.
If you haven’t heard, JMU essentially fired Chad Reep, the Pep Band Director and an outsized influence on the magic that has infiltrated the Pep Band, the MRDs, and most of the great developments in JMU fan culture over the last six years. Start Wearing Purple? That was Chad. Intimidating visiting teams from the risers at the Convo for women’s games? That was Chad. Making Indiana fans tell us in Dayton “holy shit, that band is legit and we are ashamed by our barber-shop quartet in comparison?” That was Chad. He came from humble beginnings as a Montana Grizzly, which immediately made him understand what FCS football can be at its best – i.e. something that a fanbase can be every bit as passionate about as any FBS school even if it’s on a smaller stage. In JMU’s case, that’s a Harrisonburg-sized version of a LSU Tigers game. We may lose the game, but we never lose a tailgate. It’s hard to remember through the purple haze of national rankings and conference championships, but the Dukes were getting smoked in the spirit department by Doc Nix’s Green Machine at GMCC and VCU’s creative outfit before the downfall of the CAA. Chad was there to bring pride, and song selections from this century, back to the purple and gold. And no one, I mean not one single person anywhere in JMU Nation, rooted harder fer the Dukes, bud. Not to mention, no one defended JMU more than Mr. Reep. My first real interaction with Chad was when he publicly called me out on Twitter for some asinine and inappropriate comments about the administration in the wake of one of many FBS rants back in late 2012 or early 2013 and made Rob and I have our own come-to-Uncle-Ron meeting about whether we I was living up to our “better than the message boards” mantra. We never became more than the most casual of acquaintances (in the sense that he might recognize us from across Godwin Field pregame), but I like to think we made our peace and developed a wee bit of mutual respect for each other as fellow rooters.
So here’s the story as we understand it. We have the contours right if not the details so don’t freak out; as we’ve always said we’re an independent dork blog. We hope not to be anonymous message board lunatics, but we’re also not a news organization with standards or onerous shit like that. And most of all, please don’t go yelling at administrators, BOV members, or faculty because Chad himself seems to be nothing but grateful for everything he’s had the chance to do at JMU. It’s no surprise that he seems to be taking the high road in every respect and has nothing but positive things to say about something that stinks on ice. We respect him all the more for it. But damn it, this is JMUSB and the high road ain’t for all of us.
Chad was working on an annual contract, basically a junior or adjunct faculty member in the School of Music. His duties, as most of us know, included directing the pep band, being hugely involved with the MRDs, and directing the Concert Band. The pep band grew enormously under his leadership thanks to becoming something that offered its members an experience they were looking for. Presumably, that experience included playing fun, relevant music awesomely and being a part of the growing tradition in JMU Athletics. Surprisingly to us, he wasn’t a part of the Athletic Department. And that’s where things get interesting. You have to remember that to the bean counters on the Finance side at JMU, the MRDs and the Pep Band are simply an expensive line item and it stands to reason that occasionally the pride they bring to all Dukes and the contributions they make to the larger community at JMU get forgotten when they come asking for more resources. They’ve traditionally been counted in the Athletics budget and certainly haven’t been on the School of Music’s tab.
Despite those things, the Music faculty seemed to have realized that the position – including its duties and influence – had become big and important enough to warrant becoming a full-time/long-term faculty slot (again, we know our terminology is off but you get the picture) . Bottom line, they advertised the new position, set up a hiring committee, and hired someone else despite all that Chad has accomplished and been a part of at JMU. Everything we’ve heard says that Athletics, and their small representation on the committee, was all-in on keeping Chad. So what happened?
Look, no one can say for sure except the Dean of the School of Music, the committee, MRD Director Scott Rikkers, and maybe someone in HR. But one thing’s for sure, the Music folks were caught off-guard by the blowback and outcry when the decision became public last week. The fact that it went public on the same day Softball was winning the CAA championship and lacrosse was winning their first NCAA tournament game in seven years was a frustrating reminder of days gone by when we ranted because we just couldn’t have nice things thanks to administration logic we couldn’t understand.
Bottom line seems to be that the School of Music wanted to reassert its authority over a faculty position in their department (and their budget) and didn’t quite grasp just how big of a factor the Athletics/Spirit-related aspect of the job had become. Or maybe Chad, an adjunct, had in their eyes gained outsized notoriety for a guy with only a Masters in Wind Conducting from JMU and a BA from Montana? That would suck, but its not out of line or even necessarily inappropriate for faculty members to be a bit snobbish on things like CV’s and pedigree. In many ways, that’s their job and JMU benefits from them doing that job well.
But we are left to question whether someone with an overarching view should’ve pointed out the bigger picture here and tried to navigate these waters with a lighter touch? If there was a reason they didn’t want to bring Chad back that they knew from the beginning and his candidacy was a mere courtesy, why not let him know back at the beginning of the process and allow him to exit gracefully with more time to find another gig? If the University is not interested in furthering the interests of the Pep Band and/or MRD’s because it’s too expensive or simply somewhat out of line with the School of Music’s primary mission, why not a statement owning that position and switching that burden to Athletics if it’s that important to that department? And shouldn’t someone somewhere have pointed out that you might be putting the new person in a tough spot? (And please please please don’t blame any of this on the new person. From what we’ve heard, she’s an innocent bystander in this and a former Duke so there’s absolutely no reason to not throw our full support behind her and hope for the best).
Unfortunately, there is no obvious person who would’ve had such an overarching view. We have some ideas, but honestly we don’t know enough about the political pressures those folks might’ve been under in their own departments so it’s really not worth speculating and fanning flames that may not be warranted.
But there are two things that need to be said. First, booo JMU all-around. This just stinks. It stinks bad. And please make sure to get those with a grasp of the larger picture in mind in the room early on these decisions going forward. If the bean-counter’s position takes priority, we can live with that. Same if it’s the faculty’s position that is most valued. But for the sake of the individual lives and families involved, and the impact on the community at large, just make it clear. Basically, get your shit together and realize that if you don’t want rabble-rousers like us and others to discuss these things and raise the issue, just tell us whatever you can of the story and we’ll go pound sand.
But second, and most importantly of all, we just want to say an enormous and heartfelt thank you to Chad Reep for all that he’s done to enhance our experience being involved with JMU the last six years! And from the outcry and support we saw from JMU Nation this past week, we know we’re not alone. There are so many students, staff, and current and former athletes and coaches that have been blessed by your presence in the Valley. In particular, what you and the Pep Band did for the atmosphere at women’s hoops games will never be forgotten. We wish you all the best going forward, and you’ll always have a place in JMU Nation. And hey, if you stick around, it’s always sunny in a place you’ve never had the chance to fully enjoy – P-Lot!
We’ll get to the Softball juggernaut in a second, but let’s start with a huge win and a really tough loss from the women of JMU lacrosse. The Dukes went to Louisville on Friday and didn’t just win, but doubled up an ACC foe in the first round of the big dance 12-6. Quite simply, JMU was outstanding and the Cardinals were shook. The Dukes pulled away down the stretch with an impressive second-half run and won their first game in the NCAA tournament since 2010. There is no doubt this program is headed in the right direction.
Unfortunately, the Dukes couldn’t keep up their run agains the tourney’s 4th overall seed Penn St. up in Happy Valley on Sunday, falling 19-14. It certainly wasn’t for lack of effort or heart as the Dukes came all the way back from an early deficit of 8-1 to knot the game up at 9 early in the second half. Even after giving up another run to the Nittany Lions, the Dukes got back within 2 at 16-14 late before running out of gas. Tough night, but nothing at all to hang heads about as the ladies put the program back in the national conversation this year.
In Megan We Trust!
So now to the bittersweet news concerning the Softball bracket for the Dukes in the Big Dance. Despite 50 wins and an RPI well within the top 16, not to mention some incredible fan-support in last year’s tourney games in Harrisonburg, the Dukes were screwed out of a top 16 overall seed and the opportunity to host a regional. But enough whining. The Dukes did appear to get a certain amount of respect by being slotted in the regional with the mediocre 15-seed Baylor out of the Big 12. Baylor is trash institutionally and while we’re sure their squad is solid, we love the Dukes chances to go in with a chip on their shoulder and advance. JMU will open the double-elimination four-team regional against a middling 28-25 Oregon St. squad Friday at 5 p.m. in Waco on ESPN3. Baylor will take on MAC-trash Kent St. in the other opener. The Dukes are riding a 19-game winning streak and have one of the nation’s best players both on the mound and at the plate in Megan Good. It should also be noted that only one player (Good) and two teams (JMU and Minnesota) got any love from the ESPN crew hosting the Selection Show from outside the 16 seeded teams.
If you like projecting, and you know we do, the 2nd overall seed Arizona potentially awaits the Dukes in the Super-Regional the following weekend. The Super-Regionals also feature a return to their three-day format which means Ms. Good may be available throughout the series. For the record, JMU went to Tuscon last year in the regular season and swept two from the Wildcats so don’t think for one second they would be intimidated. Bottom line, it SUCKS not to fill The Hill next weekend, but we still love the Dukes’ chances in this part of the bracket. And in case you forgot, JMU Nation has had a little success in the Lone Star state already in 2017! Go Dukes!
After the Capitals and Wizards losses last night, we’re a little bit down on sports this morning. But thankfully, there’s a JMU related story to lift our spirits. Former JMU soccer player CJ Sapong is off to the best start of his career with 7 goals through 9 games. That’s good enough to have him tied for the league lead with Erick Torres, and one more than two guys you might have heard of in David Villa and Jozy Altidore.
Sapong’s great start is all the more remarkable considering he wasn’t even starting earlier in the season. He took advantage of his opportunities and played his way into the starting 11 though. Now he’s just two goals shy of his career high for the regular season. In his mind, there’s no way he can’t score in double digits. That would be quite an accomplishment for a player who’s had his share of ups and downs. He’s experienced the highs of winning Rookie of the Year and an MLS Cup in Kansas City, to the lows of being loaned out to a USL club. Along the way he also did this, which was much cooler before Solo became Solo. We’re glad to see CJ is doing all of JMU proud. We’ll be pulling for him (but not Philadephia, we have some standards) all season long.
The JMU Women’s Lacrosse entered the CAA Tournament this past weekend as the number one seed. They proved they deserved it and steamrolled Elon today by the score of 15-7 to win the CAA Championship. It was the Dukes 10th CAA title in program history. After battling Delaware to a 11-10 overtime victory in the semifinals, JMU took much of the suspense out of this one early. The Dukes rushed out a 6-0 lead and pretty much never looked back. Elon actually outshot JMU by a 22-20 margin. As the coach speak cliche goes though, “ground balls win lacrosse games” and JMU managed to scoop up 19 compared to 14 for the Phoenix. JMU also benefited from great defense and solid goaltending all game. Haley Warden netted a hat trick and was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player. Leah Monticello, Emily Poelma, and Caroline Sdanowich also received All Tournament honors.
The victory moved JMU to 13-6 on the year and locked up the CAA’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. The Dukes will face the Louisville Cardinals in round one. Louisville earned an at-large bid after losing in the first round of the ACC Tournament to UVA. The Cardinals finished 11-7 for the season and were ranked 18th in the Coaches Poll and 19th in the Inside Lacrosse Poll. JMU was right on their heels at 19th and 20th respectively. The Cardinals coach, Kellie Young, is no stranger to the JMU program. She coached the Dukes from 2002-2006 prior to current coach Shelley Klaes-Bawcombe taking the position. Young guided JMU to three NCAA bids during her time. This is the 4th straight tournament for Louisville and the 3rd straight for the JMU.
The game will take place on Friday in University Park, PA. A win would earn the Dukes a rematch against #4 Penn State. JMU fell to the Nittany Lions 12-9 on the road back in March. Elon and Towson both got at-large bids, bringing the total to 3 teams from the CAA. Winning the league proves JMU is no joke. The Dukes also played a great out of conference schedule, so the ladies won’t be afraid of any team in the tourney. The Dukes could be set up to make a run.
For the second time this offseason, a player announced that he’s transferring from UVA to JMU. Yesterday it was linebacker Landan Word. Last week wide receiver David Eldridge decided to leave the Cavs for the Dukes. Both players should add depth to a talented JMU squad.
Transfers from P5 programs always excited fans. More so when they’re from P5 programs (technically speaking, UVA is still a P5 program). Historically, FBS to FCS transfers have a mixed track record of success. At least on paper though, Ward looks like he could be a real difference maker. And Eldridge could be a versatile weapon in Donnie Kirkpatrick’s offense.
Word played in 11 games as a true freshman last season, starting twice. He had a legit chance to be a 3 year starter for the Hoos. As a 3 star player coming out of high school and his father, Barry Wood, was a former ACC Player of the Year for UVA who went on to play 7 years in the NFL. He looks like a great replacement for Gage Steele and an outstanding addition to the JMU defense. He has 3 more years of eligibility.
Eldridge is a 6’1″ 185 pound receiver who was mostly used a deep threat at UVA. He also played in 11 games last year, making 8 catches for 2 TDs. He also saw limited action in 2015, so he’ll come to Harrisonburg with 2 more years of eligibility. He expressed some frustration that the Cavs primarily used him as a deep threat and has stated that he’d like to be more involved in other ways. He’s a great addition to a JMU receiving corps that includes two other FBS transfers. Terrance Alls transferred into JMU from Duke last year and Ish Hyman joined the Dukes after originally playing at Kansas.
It’s been a bittersweet weekend for a bunch of Dukes considered NFL Prospects. It was not all that surprising, or disappointing, that no Dukes players were selected in the actual draft and as players and their agents have learned over the years, it’s often better to be signed as an Undrafted Free Agent than a late round pick. The UFA’s are often selected by teams specifically looking to fill needs while the late-round picks may have been selected as a “best player available” to a team with a logjam ahead of them at their position.
On the sweet side of the ledger, OL Mitchell Kirsch signed with the Chicago Bears, a squad in rebuilding mode that already has former Duke Daniel Brown who contributed a good deal late last season at TE. The Bears also invited special teams standout Rashard Davis to their rookie mini-camp. Because the schedule’s for teams’ rookie camps vary, Davis was actually able to also accept an invite to the New York Jets camp so he’ll have two shots to make an impression.
CB Taylor Reynolds, one of the players with the best JMU backstories in program history (bailed on a QB shot at his hometown school and hated rival Delaware, was switched to CB almost immediately in classic Mickey fashion his freshman year and suffered some unnecessary slings and arrows from fans during his learning curve early in his career before turning into an absolute stud his last couple seasons and earning this opportunity), will be taking his talents to the NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons after signing a free agent deal this weekend too.
On the bitter side however, somehow RB Khalid Abdullah has not yet gotten a call from a pro team. And this despite a number of less-talented backs (our completely unbiased opinion of course) including guys like New Hampshire’s Dalton Crosson getting chances. We’re still hoping Khalid will find a home at some point though! And we’d love to see Gage Steele find an opportunity too.
In other news, Softball is flat-out rolling right now but we’re hoping we’ll cover them in more detail later this week before the postseason begins with the CAA tourney. And the Duke Club found a new man to lead that critically important element of JMU Athletics that we’re very excited about but will cover in more detail this summer (hopefully after a program-defining run from Softball takes us deep into June!).
The 2017 NFL Draft kicks off tonight. It’s arguably the most over-hyped event of the sports calendar, but it’s a long time until JMU football kicks off so we’re talking about it. I haven’t been paying much attention, but I assume the big story focuses on whether Cleveland’s new front office will still take input from a homeless guy. That’s all well and good, but what we care about here is the Dukes. And we’d like to know if you think any Dukes will here their name called during the draft. We’re thinking that this won’t be the year, but several guys should land undrafted free agent slots. And call us crazy, but we wouldn’t be surprised if one or two of those guys ended up making a roster. Khalid Abdullah, Taylor Reynolds, Mitch Kirsch, and Gage Steele all have plenty of talent. Will they end up playing on Sundays? Vote in our poll and then let us know your thoughts in the comments.
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