Photos Courtesy of Mark Campbell

Game 1 Boxscore / Game 2 Boxscore

NEWARK, Del. -- The University of Delaware softball squad opened the 2009 Colonial Athletic Association schedule on a high note Saturday afternoon as the Blue Hens earned a doubleheader split with a formidable James Madison squad at Delaware Field.

The Hens (5-9, 1-1 CAA) used a three-run second inning to win the opener 4-3 before the Dukes (15-6, 1-1 CAA) took the nightcap 6-4 in nine innings. The two teams will close out the weekend series Sunday with a single game at 12 noon at Delaware Field.

Delaware, trying to improve upon last year's seventh place league finish when the Hens went just 4-17 in league play, snapped a personal five-game losing streak to James Madison with the victory in the opener. The Dukes, who entered the twinbill riding a five-game winning streak, were the pre-season No. 2 pick in the CAA after finishing second in the league tournament a year ago.

Third baseman Michelle Grap (top right) led the Blue Hens on the day as she collected two hits and knocked in two runs in each of the games while shortstop Kim Ovittore added two hits and knocked in a run in both games.

Delaware used a three-run second inning in the opener to take a 4-3 lead and held on the rest of the way as pitcher Anne Marie Pagano (4-3) picked up her second straight win by scattering 12 hits, striking out two batters, and taking advantage of two double plays. The Dukes, who took a 3-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a three-run double by Katie Spitzer, left 12 runners on base.

After JMU put up three runs in the first, Delaware came back with a single run in the bottom of the inning as Grap singled home Quinn Megargel who had walked and stolen second.

The Hens then sent all nine batters to the plate in the pivotal second inning as Rachel Jones and Lindsay Novak each hit one-out singles and moved up on a sacrifice by Katie DeSalvo (bottom right). Megargel, Grap, and Ovittore then followed with consecutive run-scoring singles to give the Hens the lead for good at 4-3. Delaware held on despite managing just one hit the rest of the game.

The nightcap featured three lead changes before James Madison took over with two runs in the ninth inning as an RBI single by Shannon Moxey and a run-scoring double by Courtney Simons proved to the difference and made a winner of Jenny Clohan (9-3), who picked up the win with three innings of relief of starter Meredith Felts (nine strikeouts). Clohan had taken the loss in the opener.

Amber Kirk gave JMU a 1-0 lead with an RBI triple in the first inning but the Hens came back to go up 2-1 in the third inning as as Grap connected on a two-out, two-run single. The Dukes regained the lead at 3-2 in the fifth when catcher Julia Dominguez lined a two-run homer over the leftfield fence but the Hens came back to knot the score in the bottom of the inning on an RBI single from Ovittore.

The Hens took a 4-3 lead in the sixth when Jones was hit by a pitch, advanced to second on a wild pitch, moved up to third on a fielders choice, and scored on a single by Katie DeSalvo. But James Madison came right back in the seventh to send the game into extra innings as Kaitlyn Wernsing doubled to left to open the inning, moved up to third on a single by Moxey, and scored on a sacrifice fly by Simons.

Neither team scored again until the Dukes’ two-run ninth inning. Delaware put runners at first and second with just one out in the eighth inning but Clohan struck out Novak and DeSalvo grounded out to second base to end the threat.

AGATE:

Game 1
James Madison.....300 000 0 - 3-12-0
Delaware...............130 000 x - 4-8-0

Clohan and Dominguez; Pagano and Megargel; DP: JMU - 0, D - 2; LOB: JMU - 12, D - 5; 2B: JMU - Spitzer, 2; HBP: JMU - Kirk by Pagano; SH: D - DeSalvo; SB: JMU - Simons, Hill, Dyson, D - Megargel; CS: JMU - Ryan; WP: Pagano (4-3), LP: Clohan (8-3);

Game 2
James Madison.....100 020 102 - 6-10-1
Delaware...............002 011 000 - 4-9-1

Felts, Clohan (7) and Dominguez; Stacevicz and Megargel; E: JMU - Clohan, D - Grap; DP: JMU -1, D - 0; LOB: JMU - 6, D - 9; 2B: JMU - Simons, Wernsing; 3B: JMU - Kirk; HR: JMU - Dominguez; HBP: D - Jones, 2; SH: JMU - Moxey; SF: JMU - Simons; SB: JMU - Wernsing, 2, Dyson; CS: JMU - Burnham, Dyson; PB: JMU - Dominguez; WP: JMU - Felts; WP: Clohan (9-3); LP: Stacevicz (1-5); Attendance: 125.