{"id":7704,"date":"2015-05-11T06:27:14","date_gmt":"2015-05-11T10:27:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7704"},"modified":"2015-05-11T06:27:14","modified_gmt":"2015-05-11T10:27:14","slug":"jmu-sports-weekend-wrap-the-agony-and-the-ecstacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7704","title":{"rendered":"JMU Sports Weekend Wrap: The Agony and The Ecstacy"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Softball<\/a>Sports are great. Or they’re not. Your team can make you feel like you’re walking on air when times are good. When times are bad though, not so much. We could go on and on with this stupid intro, but the point is that this was a very up and down weekend when it comes to JMU sports. Let’s get to it.<\/p>\n

JMU softball carried a 36 game winning streak into last week’s CAA tournament, before dropping the opener to Hofstra. The Dukes rallied in the losers bracket to get another crack at the Pride in the finals. The ladies came up big with a 3-2 win to force a winner take all second game. We Feel Like:<\/strong> We’ve got a spring in our step.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, things didn’t work out too well in the final game. Hofstra won a squeeker 2-1<\/a> to capture the CAA crown. We Feel Like:<\/strong> Someone kicked us in the shins. Hard.<\/p>\n

The ladies of JMU lacrosse had an outstanding season and managed to capture another CAA title. The Dukes were rewarded with a bid to the NCAA tournament and a match-up against USC. With the game scheduled for Friday evening in Durham, NC, the seniors would be unable to participate in graduation. We Feel Like:<\/strong> Someone stole our sandwich from the office fridge and ate it.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, President Alger held a special graduation<\/a> for the players as soon as they stepped off the practice field. We Feel Like:<\/strong> The world is a happy place.<\/p>\n

The Dukes looked pretty good for most of the game and lead for a while. Then things took a turn for the worse and the Trojans managed to coast home for a 13-10 victory<\/a>, ending JMU’s season. We Feel Like:<\/strong> We could use a beer.<\/p>\n

The Diamond Dukes played their final home series under head coach Spanky McFarland this weekend. Given the way the past few seasons have gone, we haven’t paid much attention to the squad this year. We Feel Like:<\/strong> We’re completely indifferent.<\/p>\n

JMU split the first two games of its series against Hofstra. The Dukes took the opener 10-7 and then dropped a close one 8-6 to set up a rubber match for the series finale. We Feel Like:<\/strong> A team we don’t follow did sports stuff.<\/p>\n

The Dukes’ bats exploded in game three for Spanky’s home sendoff. JMU scored a whopping 23 runs and finished the home season with a 23-7 win. We Feel Like:<\/strong> We’d probably be thrilled if a team in a sport we followed won this convincingly.<\/p>\n

And finally, the NCAA selection committee announced softball College World Series bids this evening. The Dukes are dancing. Oh, and they’ll be dancing in Veterans Memorial Park because the NCAA did something right for once and awarded the Dukes the 15th overall seed. That’s right, the powers that be actually recognized that slipping up against another strong program doesn’t outweigh months of sustained excellence. So JMU will be hosting Binghampton, Fordham, and NC State in the Harrisonburg Regional next week. We Feel Like: <\/strong>Everything is coming up Milhouse.
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