George Washington University
17-14, 1-5
Massachusetts
7-16, 1-6
GW Softball Splits A-10 Doubleheader at UMass on Friday
4/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Softball
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April 3, 2015
Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score
AMHERST, Mass. - The George Washington softball team split the opening day of a three-game set with Atlantic 10 rival Massachusetts on Friday afternoon at the Minutewomen's Sortino Field. The rubber match will take place on Saturday afternoon.
GW (17-14, 1-5 A-10) fell in the first game, 3-2, before bouncing back in the nightcap with a 9-0 victory in five innings over UMass (7-16, 2-6 A-10).
In game one, the Minutewomen took an early lead with a two-run home run in the first inning off of freshman starter Sarah Costlow.
The Colonials cut the lead in half in the fourth after senior Victoria Valos doubled, advanced to third on a ground out by junior Carlee Gray and scored on a fielder's choice by sophomore Paige Kovalsky.
In the fifth, sophomore Bradleigh Breland reached base on an error then stole second to land in scoring position for Valos, who came through with an RBI double to knot the score at two apiece.
The Minutewomen answered with the eventual winning run when A-10 batting leader Quianna Dias-Patterson singled down the right field line and advanced to third on a pair of ground balls. A wild pitch allowed the run and a 3-2 lead for UMass that would stick through the remainder of the game.
In game two, the Colonials scored one in the first after Linn led off the game with a single, was moved to third by a pair of grounders and touched home on a Gray RBI single.
The Buff and Blue poured on the runs in the second, posting a seven-spot beginning with RBI doubles by both senior Samantha Dos Santos and Linn. A two-out error by the Minutewomen extended the inning, allowing five additional runs to cross on two more hits and four walks to give the Colonials an 8-0 lead.
A sacrifice fly by Gray in the third wrapped the scoring for GW, increasing the lead to 9-0 and enact the mercy rule after five frames to secure the victory as Kovalsky tossed a complete game shutout in the circle.
With the triumph, Kovalsky improves to 5-0 on the season and notches the first conference victory for the Colonials this season. Three of her five wins came in this week alone, going all the way in each outing.
Gray (3-for-7, 3 RBI, 1 R), Linn (3-for-7, 1 RBI, 3 R) and Valos (3-for-7, 2 RBI, 2 R) each had big days at the plate with a trio of hits, while freshman Rochelle Draper (2-for-5) and Breland (2-for-8, 2 R) also chipped in multi-hit days.
GW will wrap the three-game series with Massachusetts on Saturday at 12 p.m. at the Minutewomen's Sorentino Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Kovalsky, Paige (6-0)
L: COLLERAN, Meg (1-7)
Batting:
2B: Linn, Megan 1 ; Santos, Samantha 1
RBI: Linn, Megan 1 ; Valos, Victoria 1 ; Gray, Carlee 3 ; Matetic, Morgan 1 ; Santos, Samantha 2
SH: Matetic, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Linn, Megan 3 ; Breland, Bradleigh 1 ; Valos, Victoria 1 ; Gray, Carlee 1 ; Kovalsky, Paige 1 ; Anderson, Alana 1 ; Santos, Samantha 1
Base Running:
HBP: KELLEY, Anna 1 ; WINCE, Ashton 1
