{"id":8571,"date":"2016-05-25T07:23:20","date_gmt":"2016-05-25T11:23:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8571"},"modified":"2016-05-25T07:23:20","modified_gmt":"2016-05-25T11:23:20","slug":"guest-post-looking-back-at-the-harrisonburg-regional","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8571","title":{"rendered":"Guest Post: Looking Back at the Harrisonburg Regional"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/TSGMFvSk6Ak\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><br \/>\n<em>While we&#8217;ve been forced to follow JMU softball&#8217;s postseason run from the comforts of our own homes, Chase Kiddy (<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ckiddysports\">@ckiddysports<\/a>) has been able to attend in person. He offered to share his thoughts on last weekend&#8217;s events. Take it away Chase.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Well, that was\u2026 expected? <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JMU softball hosted one of the 16 NCAA Regionals for the second straight year, and this time, there was no doubt about who the best team in Harrisonburg was.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Before we get too far into this, let\u2019s give credit to the other teams that visited the Burg. For a sub-.500 team, Princeton looked like a pretty solid squad on Friday, hanging tough with Dukes ace Megan Good. North Carolina was just as scrappy, mounting a late comeback Friday night and beating out Longwood for the right to play JMU on Saturday. The Lancers were probably the most impressive, surviving a late affair Saturday evening with UNC (their elimination game went to extra innings) and even staring JMU down for the first half of Sunday\u2019s title game. Longwood and their fans can certainly hold their heads high on the way back to Farmville.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But let\u2019s not kid ourselves. For the most part, this was a quiet, forceful domination from JMU, who seemed locked in and determined not to squander another home opportunity in the postseason.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On second thought, they didn\u2019t look determined not to squander anything; they looked like a team completely unrelated to last year\u2019s squad. They looked like a team who was incapable of anything but winning in convincing fashion.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I\u2019m going to skip past the first two games because, frankly, there\u2019s not a ton to cover, other than how completely awesome it was to see two grand slams in two days. The UNC game was ended early because of the slaughter rule, and the only drama late in the Princeton game was whether or not <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">that<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> game would be ended because of the slaughter rule (Princeton took JMU the full 7 innings), so let\u2019s talk Longwood.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">I can\u2019t say enough how impressed I am with the Lancers. A lot is made of their coach, Kathy Riley, and it\u2019s pretty clear that she runs a tight program. Since moving to the Big South at the beginning of the 2013 season, Longwood has made the NCAA Regional round three times. On Sunday, her team was both energetic and acrobatic &#8212; I think I counted seven or eight hustle-to-the-foul-ball putouts, half of which were really impressive diving catches. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It must be tough being Sydney Gay, Longwood\u2019s starting pitcher from Sunday. Through the first four innings of the game, she pitched beautifully. She did get some help from a bizarrely inconsistent strike zone &#8212; at one point, Jailyn Ford was called out for a called Strike 3 that might have brushed her ankles &#8212; but even still, she had pitched a gem through four frames.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The problem was that she was still just the second best pitcher in the game. If you\u2019re late to the softball bandwagon and you haven\u2019t watched Megan Good yet, you\u2019re really missing out on someone who might end up as one of the all-time great JMU athletes. Her win today is her THIRTY-FIRST of the season, which feels like a fictional number. I feel pretty comfortable saying she\u2019s the most impressive student-athlete I\u2019ve watched at JMU over the last year, which is amazing to consider after the year JMU athletics has had. (Sorry, Vad.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Like most great athletes, she has another gear that she can tap into, and after some uncharacteristic fielding errors from JMU\u2019s infield in the bottom of the third, and then some further questionable officiating at the plate, I felt like you could see her body language change a little bit in the circle. \u201cRelaxed and smiling\u201d seemed to become \u201cfocused and irritated,\u201d and that can be a pretty lethal combination in any sport if you can keep your composure. Well, she did. Her control was there, her pitch velocity seemed even faster, and she kept piling up strikeouts. She finished the day with 10 strikeouts and zero earned runs, up from her Friday total of six strikeouts and zero earned runs. So yeah, #Goodisgood. (Shoutout to Dylan Garner from the Richmond Times Dispatch for that hashtag.)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But let\u2019s backtrack to that erroneous third inning, because I think it might be the most important moment of the entire weekend. JMU third baseman Morgan Tolle fielded a tough ball from Jessica Smith, but her throw to first was off the mark, and Smith advanced to second. Then, Longwood\u2019s Justina Augustine reached on a second consecutive error &#8212; this one featured Augustine barrelling into Jailyn, who tried to field the bunt down the first baseline, but dropped the ball during the tag when the two players made contact. There were runners on the corners with no outs on the board.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No one had scored in the game yet, so it seemed like we may be in line for a pitchers\u2019 duel. After the errors, JMU seemed likely to blink first. The demons of last year\u2019s early exit were creeping out again, and an uncomfortable silence fell over what had been a lively sell-out crowd just a few minutes earlier.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But JMU didn\u2019t crack. Augustine was caught stealing a couple pitches later. Smith scored on a sac fly to center field, but it was Longwood\u2019s only run of the game. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Then, in the fifth, Jessica Mrozek blasted one into the new wooden bleachers in the outfield. In the sixth, Erica Field literally bounced the go-ahead run off the top of the right field wall and over the fence. And in the seventh, just as the sun was coming out over top of the press box, JMU piled on three more runs just for good measure.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When dominant teams suddenly face some adversity, I\u2019m always curious to see how they react. This JMU team &#8212; well, they can play from behind, or they can run-rule you in the fifth. And they don\u2019t seem to care whether or not ESPN is broadcasting it or not.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which, by the way, they <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">will<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> be this upcoming week. Games are set for Friday and Saturday, and it\u2019s safe to say we should all be prepared for daytime tailgates and intentionally obnoxious misspellings of the word \u201cgo.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">JMU and Harrisonburg provided an awesome crowd for the Regional round, so I can\u2019t wait to find out what we can cook up (literally) for the Super Regional. Our community is four days away from the Tailgate Battle to end all Tailgates Battles and three games away from the Women\u2019s College World Series.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Make me proud.<\/span><\/p>\n<iframe src=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/plugins\/like.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fjmusportsblog.com%2F%3Fp%3D8571&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=true&amp;width=450&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light&amp;height=80\" scrolling=\"no\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none; overflow:hidden; width:450px; height:80px;\" allowTransparency=\"true\"><\/iframe>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While we&#8217;ve been forced to follow JMU softball&#8217;s postseason run from the comforts of our own homes, Chase Kiddy (@ckiddysports) has been able to attend in person. He offered to share his thoughts on last weekend&#8217;s events. Take it away Chase.\u00a0 Well, that was\u2026 expected? JMU softball hosted one of the 16 NCAA Regionals for [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"spay_email":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12063,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=12063","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":0},"title":"JMU Football Season Preview: Weber State, The Burden of Favoritism, and the Two Games That Will Define the 2025 Season","date":"August 27, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"Welcome to Week 1 of the 2025 college football season! James Madison football opens up Year 4 of its spectacular FBS era on Saturday.\u00a0 The Week 1 punching bag of the moment is former FCS playoff foil Weber State \u2013 more on the Wildcats in a minute or two. But\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i2.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/k6bpZciBftI\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12031,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=12031","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":1},"title":"Georgia State at JMU: Official JMUSB Game #9 Preview","date":"November 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"The Basics Matchup: Georgia State (2-6, 0-4 Sun Belt) at JMU (6-2, 2-2 Sun Belt) Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET, Bridgeforth Stadium in Harrisonburg, VA Weather: 55 and Partly Sunny. Excellent weather, considering it\u2019s Week 11. Broadcast: ESPN+ Day Job Numbers: JMU -16.5, ML -800; O\/U 54.5 The Dukes have covered\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/11\/image.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":7711,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=7711","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":2},"title":"Guest Post: Harrisonburg Regional Preview","date":"May 14, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is a guest post by NCAA softball expert @BHansen40. In it he breaks down JMU's opponents in the opening round of the NCAA Softball College World Series. The postseason is coming to Harrisonburg this week as the NCAA selection committee rewarded JMU with an NCAA regional, despite coming up\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"Veterans Memorial Park","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/CE6vwStUMAAKy31-1024x768.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8928,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8928","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":3},"title":"Prediction Contest: The Dukes vs. The Tribe","date":"October 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The JMU Dukes welcome our old friends the Tribe to Bridgeforth Stadium this Saturday. JMU and William & Mary have staged some epic battles over the years, with the bad guys taking last year's contest by the score of 44-41. However, JMU has taken care of business at home against\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"(11\/13\/10) - (Harrisonburg) (Traci White\/Daily News-Record)","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/10\/111310-jmu-wm-ftb1-tw.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":8547,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=8547","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":4},"title":"Guest Post: NCAA Softball Bracketology","date":"May 15, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Brian Hansen is our go-to guy when it comes to all things JMU and NCAA softball. Here's his quick look at how the NCAA tournament might shakeout prior to the field being announced this evening.\u00a0 So the softball Dukes cruised through the CAA Championship and I\u2019m not sure the tournament\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Sports&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":12018,"url":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/?p=12018","url_meta":{"origin":8571,"position":5},"title":"Southern Miss at JMU: Official 2024 JMUSB Game #8 Preview","date":"October 25, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Happy Homecoming! For everyone making their way back to Harrisonburg this weekend, travel safely and have a great time. The football game will take place at Bridgeforth in the midafternoon. For those of you looking to fill up on Homecoming events, remember that the biggest game of the weekend is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;JMU Football&quot;","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jmusportsblog.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/crowd.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8571"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8571"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8571\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8574,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8571\/revisions\/8574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8571"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8571"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jmusportsblog.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8571"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}