James Madison’s 2022 Season Officially Over Following Lauren Bernett’s Passing

One week after the tragic passing of James Madison sophomore Lauren Bernett, the Dukes officially announced the end of their 2022 season on Monday.

“This was an extremely difficult decision and one that was not made lightly,” JMU head coach Loren LaPorte said. “We are so grateful for the support of our fans all season and for the love from the softball community during the past week. We will use this time to continue healing and to honor Lauren’s memory while finishing the academic semester strong. Most importantly, we’re thinking about our graduating seniors whose careers have come to an abrupt conclusion. We will make sure that they are honored for the commitment and dedication they have made as student-athletes at James Madison University.”

At the time of Bernett’s untimely death, there were nine games remaining in the Dukes’ season. A midweek doubleheader and a weekend series against Delaware were quickly cancelled as members of the program dealt with the sudden news.

Monday’s announcement officially cancels the remaining four games on the JMU schedule. The Dukes’ season was scheduled to conclude with a home midweek game against Virginia and a season-ending series against Elon.

The Dukes were named ineligible for conference postseason play following a vote of the other schools in the CAA after JMU announced plans to move to the Sun Belt next year. Even had the Dukes finished as CAA regular-season champions, they were banned from participating in the tournament and vying for the league’s automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.

Pitcher Alexis Bermudez, who has posted a number of tributes to Bernett, her battery mate, posted on Twitter following Monday’s cancellation announcement:

To all of the teams and players dedicating the rest of their season to playing for Lauren or a bigger purpose, THANK YOU💜 you have no idea how badly i wish i could be in your shoes right now.

— lex (@_alexisbermudez) May 2, 2022