South Fayette grads part of JMU’s run
As one of the WPIAL’s most successful programs in the past decade, South Fayette prides itself on being known as a football powerhouse.
The Lions’ reputation hasn’t changed in football circles, but like it or not, South Fayette might soon be known as a softball school.
Yes, the Lions had a solid softball season this spring, but that’s not the main reason for the shift in perception. Instead, the driving forces behind the new label are South Fayette grads Sara Jubas and Lauren Bernett, who recently completed a remarkable run to the Final Four of the Women’s College World Series as key starters for James Madison University.
Jubas, a redshirt junior and 2017 South Fayette grad, has earned a reputation as one of the top-hitting shortstops in the country ever since arriving at JMU. As a freshman in 2018, Jubas hit .302 with 25 RBIs and 35 runs scored. She then led the team with a .423 batting average, .513 on-base percentage, 17 doubles and 62 RBIs as a sophomore, while bashing 14 home runs, scoring 53 runs and boasting a slugging percentage of .801.
After missing out on most of the COVID-shortened 2020 season — she batted .439 with 5 home runs, 14 RBIs and 26 runs scored in 19 games — Jubas was back to elite form in 2021, batting .397 with 12 homers, 40 RBIs and 46 runs.
“Honestly, I never thought I would be on that stage,” Jubas said. “To just make it there and achieve every little girl softball player’s childhood dream was incredible, and just to show little girls everywhere that you can do it no matter what school you go to. It’s just really special.”
Bernett is a freshman catcher and 2020 South Fayette grad who started 43 of the team’s 45 games behind the plate, batting .235 with 3 home runs and 10 RBIs. At one point during the season, the Dukes won 28 games in a row, and they finished with a record of 41-4.
“I never expected it, but it was definitely a great surprise and I’m very glad we were able to have this experience this year,” Bernett said. “It definitely is a dream come true.”
Long known as a perennial title contender in the Colonial Athletic Association, JMU burst into the national spotlight in 2021 on its way to the WCWS. After winning another CAA championship, the Dukes entered the NCAA Knoxville Regional and knocked off nationally ranked opponents Liberty (twice) and Tennessee to reach the NCAA Columbia Super Regional. There, JMU won a best-of-three series vs. Missouri to reach the WCWS.
Making its first-ever appearance in the WCWS, the Dukes first faced off against No. 1 Oklahoma — the team that would eventually go on to win the WCWS championship. JMU got the better of the Sooners in that first matchup, though — and nobody played a bigger role in the stunning victory than Jubas.
With the game scoreless in the top of the third inning, Jubas drilled a three-run homer to straightaway center to put the Dukes on top. The game eventually went to extra innings, and JMU pulled off the upset, 4-3, thanks to a solo home run by Kate Gordon in the top of the eighth.
“That was definitely a very special moment. I honestly couldn’t believe the ball was going over the fence,” Jubas said. “My home run didn’t win the game — it was the people who were able to get on base beforehand that made the big difference. That just makes it more memorable for me, I guess.”
The win marked the first time since 2008 that an unseeded team defeated the topranked team in the opening game of the WCWS — but the Dukes were far from finished making history.
In their next game, JMU took on another national powerhouse in No. 5 Oklahoma State — and mind you, each WCWS game this year was played in Oklahoma City. Facing another heavily favored opponent in hostile territory, the Dukes pulled off a shocking 2-1 win to reach the national semifinals, thus becoming the first unseeded team to advance that far in WCWS history.
“It’s very cool to represent the Pittsburgh area at the World Series,” Jubas said. “Growing up, I feel like being from Pittsburgh, you always hear that the girls from California are the best and that they’re the ones who are going to make it.
“It was really nice to be able to show people that no matter where you’re from, you can make it.”
JMU pitcher Odicci Alexander made an incredible diving tag to stop the tying run from scoring for Oklahoma State on a bunt in the seventh inning, then Jubas caught the final out to preserve the 2-1 win. Odicci’s sensational play instantly went viral on social media, and Bernett had the best seat in the house to watch it unfold.
“It happened in a split second,” Bernett said. “I was screaming to her, telling her the runner was coming, and it looked like she was going to flip it, and she just laid out. I couldn’thave been happier for her. It was an amazing play. If she didn’t do what she did, they definitely would have scored a run.”
Facing off against Oklahoma once again with a trip to the WCWS championship on the line — this time in a bestof-three series — the Dukes’ Cinderella story came to an end after back-to-back losses to the top-ranked Sooners. Oklahoma then defeated Florida State in a three-game series to capture its fifth WCWS title.
Although JMU came up just short of its ultimate goal, these two former Lions helped put the program on the map. And while Jubas is moving on to begin pharmacy school at the University of North Carolina in the fall — she hasn’t yet decided if she’ll play out her final year of eligibility at UNC or not — Bernett is just getting started as the Dukes’ catcher of the future.
“It’s definitely special to be able to play with her,” Bernett said. “Four years ago we were just babies, so having that opportunity to play with her and see how far we’ve both come since then is definitely a very special and sweet experience.”