George Washington University
9-8
Norfolk State
0-7
GW Softball Sweeps Norfolk State
3/12/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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March 12, 2015
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
NORFOLK, Va. - The George Washington softball team extended its win streak to five on Thursday with a pair of wins at Norfolk State.
The Colonials (10-8) defeated the Spartans (0-8) 7-6 and 5-0 to take both ends of the doubleheader.
Sophomore starter Paige Kovalsky was locked in a pitchers' duel in game one until the Colonials broke through and scored five in the top of the fourth.
Junior Morgan Matetic led off the inning with a walk and moved to second on an infield single by Kovalsky. Junior Carlee Gray then singled to left center for an RBI and the first run for the Buff and Blue. With runners on first and second, senior Samantha Dos Santos singled to plate Kovalsky, and a Spartan error on an attempted play at home moved runners to second and third. Freshman Morgan Rinehart then drove in two with a single up the middle, and sophomore Bradleigh Breland's single scored Rinehart after the rookie swiped second and took third on a passed ball.
The Colonials tacked on another run in the fifth on three hits, with the RBI single again coming from Gray. In Norfolk State's half of the inning, a single bookended by walks led to a sacrifice fly for the Spartans' first run of the game.
GW's final and eventual winning run came in the sixth, when Rinehart led off the inning with a single, stole second and scored on an RBI double by sophomore Megan Linn.
Freshman hurler Ashley Pilcher came on in relief in the sixth, but got into trouble early, giving up three consecutive hits and two runs before Kovalsky re-entered the circle and got out of the inning without further damage.
Norfolk State showed fight in the seventh, scoring three with the help of two home runs before Kovalsky closed out the game for the 7-6 victory, improving her record to 3-0 on the season.
In game two, the Colonials scored first for the eighth straight game when Dos Santos reached base on an error with two outs in the second then stole her eighth base of the season before scoring on a Rinehart single down the right field line.
Dos Santos displayed her savvy base running again in the fourth, legging out one-out triple and scoring on a double by freshman Rochelle Draper to give GW a 2-0 lead.
The Colonials tagged on two more in the fifth as senior Victoria Valos reached on an error then advanced to second on a wild pitch, putting her in scoring position for Kovalsky, who smacked an RBI double to right center. Kovalsky would later score on another RBI-yeilding at-bat for Dos Santos, this time an infield single.
GW's flawless defense and strong effort on the mound by freshman Sarah Costlow earned the Colonials their fifth straight victory, 5-0.
With the win, Costlow improves to 7-6 on the season and records her second complete game shutout. The righty yielded six hits and just two free passes while striking out five.
Dos Santos and Gray each finished the day with a pair of RBIs, batting 5-for-8 and 4-for-8, respectively. Rinehart drove in three while going 3-for-6 with four stolen bases.
The Buff and Blue return to action on Friday, when they take on Lafayette in a doubleheader starting at 10:30 a.m. at the Nationals Youth Baseball Academy as part of the Capital Invitational. Fans can follow along with live stats for game one and game two .
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kovalsky, Paige (3-0)
L: MARRERO,Marissa (0-4)
Batting:
2B: Linn, Megan 1
RBI: Linn, Megan 1 ; Breland, Bradleigh 1 ; Gray, Carlee 2 ; Santos, Samantha 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 2
SH: Draper, Rochelle 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Valos, Victoria 1 ; Matetic, Morgan 1 ; Kovalsky, Paige 1 ; Mangini, Marissa 1 ; Santos, Samantha 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 2
SB: Valos, Victoria 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 2
CS: Linn, Megan 1 ; Breland, Bradleigh 1
Batting:
2B: DI FULGO,Sommer 1
HR: MORIARTY,Alina 1 ; DI FULGO,Sommer 1
RBI: MORIARTY,Alina 2 ; DI FULGO,Sommer 2 ; HAUSTEIN,Hannah 2
SH: MORIARTY,Seana 1
SF: MORIARTY,Alina 1
Base Running:
RUNS: MORIARTY,Alina 1 ; PRZESLAWSKI,Megan 1 ; MORIARTY,Seana 1 ; DI FULGO,Sommer 2 ; MITCHELL,Robyn 1
