HARRISONBURG, Va., May 4, 2009 -- The JMU softball team travels to Hempstead, N.Y., this week to participate in the Colonial Athletic Association Championships.  The Dukes claimed the tournaments fourth seed after sweeping George Mason last weekend and will take on top-seeded Hofstra at noon on Wednesday in the opening game of the double-elimination event.

This is the third straight year that Madison has qualified for the event and the sixth time in the program's eight-year history.  Last year the Dukes won their first two games to advance to the championship round before being eliminated by Hofstra in a memorial doubleheader.

Joining JMU and Hofstra at the championship will be second-seeded Georgia State and third-seeded Towson.  The Panthers and Tigers will play at 3:30 on Wednesday in the second opening-round game.  All four teams are making a repeat appearance from the 2008 championship.

The tournament will continue on Thursday, starting at 10 a.m. with two games to follow.  The championship game(s) will start at noon on Friday, with Saturday set aside as a makeup day.

Senior right-hander Meredith Felts (Greenville, N.C./J.H. Rose) will help lead the Madison into the tournament after being named the CAA Pitcher of the Week for the third time this season.  Felts went 1-0 last week with a save and did not allow a run in nine innings pitched.  In the series opener against GMU, Felts threw her first career no-hitter, limiting the Patriots to three walks and one runner reaching by error in seven innings pitched.  The senior also struck out 12 to break her own record for strikeouts in a season with 164.

Felts joined Briana Carrera (2003-06) as the only players in program history to no-hit an opponent.  Carrera no-hit Howard University March 16, 2005.

The Dukes enter the CAA Championships No. 1 in the conference in pitching, No. 2 in offense and No. 3 in fielding.  Felts combined with fellow senior right-hander Jenny Clohan (Ashburn, Va./Broad Run) for a 1.74 ERA in the circle as the duo pitched all but 20.1 innings for JMU this season.  Felts was 16-4 with a 1.49 ERA, while Clohan went 16-8 with a 1.73 ERA.

Offensively, JMU had three batters hit over .300 and another three finish above .275.  Junior first baseman Shannon Moxey (Church Road, Va./Mills Godwin) led the team with a .336 batting average, adding 11 doubles, three triples, 19 runs scored and 14 RBI.  Two-time All-CAA selection Amber Kirk (Hamilton, Va./Loudoun County) finished with a .322 batting average and a team-high 22 runs scored.

Senior catcher Julia Dominguez (Sterling, Va./Park View) led the team with five home runs and 27 RBI, while also setting a school record for walks with 29.  She finished with a .298 batting average, adding five doubles and 14 runs scored.

The Dukes also set a school record for stolen bases this season with 80 in 101 attempts (79.2 percent).  Senior outfielder Megan Forbes (Fincastle, Va./Lord Botetourt) set a school record for single-season steals with 19 on 21 attempts (90.5 percent) this season.  Other top performers on the base paths this season were junior center fielder Brittney Dyson (Waldorf, Md./Thomas Stone) (17-of-23) and junior right fielder Courtney Simons (Richmond, Va./Deep Run) (8-of-10).

# # #