James Madison Dukes softball

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James Madison Dukes Softball
James Madison University Athletics logo.svg
University James Madison University
Head coach Loren LaPorte (7th season)
Conference Sun Belt
Location Harrisonburg, VA
Home stadium Veterans Memorial Park (Capacity: 1,500)
Nickname Dukes
ColorsPurple and gold [1]
   
NCAA WCWS appearances
2021
NCAA Super Regional appearances
2016, 2019, 2021
NCAA Tournament appearances
2009, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021
Conference Tournament championships
2009, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2021
Regular Season Conference championships
2009, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021

The James Madison Dukes softball team represents James Madison University in NCAA Division I college softball. The team participates in the Sun Belt Conference (SBC) and plays home games in Veterans Memorial Park. JMU has won six CAA championships, including back-to-back Championships in 2016 and 2017. The Dukes have been to the NCAA Division I softball tournament nine times, hosting Regionals and Super Regionals in 2016. The team's head coach is Loren LaPorte, leading the Dukes to a 197–74 record in six seasons.

Contents

Coaching history

YearsCoachRecord%
2002–2012Katie Flynn283–252.528
2013–2017 Mickey Dean 187–49.738
2017–present Loren LaPorte 197–74.727

Season results

SeasonCoachRecord CAA RecordNotes
2002Katie Flynn25–245–9
2003Katie Flynn19–315–3
2004Katie Flynn30–3212–6
2005Katie Flynn28–278–10
2006Katie Flynn24–289–12
2007Katie Flynn38–1616–4
2008Katie Flynn32–2216–8
2009Katie Flynn35–1612–8 CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2010Katie Flynn24–3311–10
2011Katie Flynn29–238–11
2012Katie Flynn30–2615–5
2013Mickey Dean42–1718–3 NCAA Regionals
2014Mickey Dean45–1515–3CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2015Mickey Dean48–1019–0 NCAA Regionals
2016Mickey Dean50–618–1CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals
2017Mickey Dean52–818–2CAA Champions, NCAA Regionals
2018Loren LaPorte43–1419–2 NCAA Regionals
2019Loren LaPorte51–1020–1CAA Champions, NCAA Super Regionals
2020Loren LaPorte13–60–0Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic [2]
2021Loren LaPorte41–417–1CAA Champions, Women's College World Series
2022Loren LaPorte21–2110–5
2023Loren LaPorte28–1913–11

2021 Season

After a dominant performance in the regular season, the Dukes entered the postseason with a 34–1 record. In the CAA tournament, the Dukes beat Delaware for their sixth conference title and were rewarded with the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA softball tournament.

The Dukes advanced to the Super Regionals after beating #9 Tennessee [3] and #25 Liberty twice in the Knoxville Regional. [4] They then went on to beat #8 Mizzou on the road in the best-of-three series in Columbia, Missouri. [5]

After punching their ticket to the Women's College World Series (WCWS) for the first time, the James Madison Dukes advanced to the WCWS semifinals after beating #1 Oklahoma 4–3 in eight innings [6] and #5 Oklahoma State 2–1 [7] in the first and second rounds of the tournament. In doing so, they became the first-ever unseeded team to start 2–0 in the WCWS and reach the semifinal games. Their historic run came to a close just short of the finals, falling to eventual champions #1 Oklahoma twice.

Championships

Conference Championships

SeasonConferenceRecordHead Coach
2009 Colonial Athletic Association 35–16Katie Flynn
2014Colonial Athletic Association45–15Mickey Dean
2016Colonial Athletic Association50–6Mickey Dean
2017Colonial Athletic Association52–8Mickey Dean
2019Colonial Athletic Association51–10Loren LaPorte
2021Colonial Athletic Association41–4Loren LaPorte

NCAA Regional appearances

NCAA Regional Results
2009 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional

Lost to Tennessee, 3–4
Lost to Jacksonville State, 0–6

2013 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional

Lost to NC State, 0–2
Defeated Longwood, 5–0
Lost to NC State, 4–6

2014 Lexington, Kentucky Regional

Defeated DePaul, 6–1
Lost to Kentucky, 1–2
Lost to DePaul, 3–4

2015 Harrisonburg, Virginia Regional

Defeated Binghamton, 10–15
Lost to NC State, 0–2
Lost to Fordham, 1–2

2016 Harrisonburg, Virginia Regional

Defeated Princeton, 7–0
Defeated North Carolina, 10–1
Defeated Longwood, 5–1

2017 Waco, Texas Regional

Defeated Oregon State, 3–2
Lost to Baylor, 2–4
Defeated Kent State, 4–0
Lost to Baylor, 0–1

2018 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional

Defeated Ohio, 2–1
Lost to Tennessee, 3–12
Lost to Ohio, 3–7

2019 Ann Arbor, Michigan Regional

Defeated DePaul, 5–2
Lost to Michigan, 0–112
Defeated DePaul, 3–0
Defeated Michigan, 3–0
Defeated Michigan, 2–1

2021 Knoxville, Tennessee Regional

Defeated Liberty, 4–310
Defeated Tennessee, 3–1
Defeated Liberty, 8–5

Notable players

National awards

NFCA National Player of the Year
Softball America Pitcher of the Year
D1 Softball's Woman of the Year

All-Americans

Coaching Staff Awards

Related Research Articles

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References

  1. "Color Information" (PDF). JMU Official Athletics Identity Usage and Style Guide. July 12, 2023. Retrieved March 23, 2024.
  2. "NCAA cancels remaining winter and spring championships". NCAA.org. 2020-03-12. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
  3. Shiers, Mike. "JMU Softball beats Tennessee 3-1; Advances to Regional Final". www.nbc29.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  4. AL LESAR. "JMU Downs Liberty To Win Knoxville Regional". Daily News-Record. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  5. "OKC BOUND! JMU Beats Mizzou to Reach First Women's College World Series". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  6. "James Madison shocks No. 1 seed OU in WCWS". ESPN.com. 2021-06-03. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  7. "JMU wins another WCWS shocker, stuns Okla. St". ESPN.com. 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  8. "NFCA | National Fastpitch Coaches Association". nfca.org-gb. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  9. "2021 NCAA Pitcher Of The Year: Odicci Alexander". Softball America. Retrieved 2021-11-16.
  10. "D1 Woman of the Year: Odicci Alexander". D1Softball. 2021-06-30. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  11. "College softball: JMU's historic run captures 2021 NFCA DI national coaching staff of the year honors | NCAA.com". www.ncaa.com. Retrieved 2021-09-05.
  12. "JMU Staff Named NFCA Northeast Coaching Staff of the Year". James Madison University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-09-05.