George Washington University Athletics
GW Softball Set to Host Capital Invite
3/10/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
HOME SWEET HOME: The GW softball squad concludes a 10-game homestand over the weekend as the Colonials host the three-day Capital Invite at the GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus. The Buff and Blue will welcome visiting Akron, Canisius and Gardner-Webb to the District.
GW (6-7) has won 11 of its last 13 home contests and will play a pair of doubleheaders this weekend, taking on Gardner-Webb and Canisius on Friday before facing Akron and Gardner-Webb on Saturday.
LEADING THE WAY: Junior Monica Macchiarulo leads GW with a .405 average on the spring with a team-best nine RBIs. Classmate Megan Linn's 13 runs scored marks a team high, and the speedster leads the squad with seven stolen bases in nine attempts. Linn is in the midst of a 16-game reached-base streak dating back to last season.
Sophomore Sarah Costlow (4-2) has been a consistent arm in the circle, owning a team-best 2.64 ERA.
SCOUTING AKRON: The Zips (9-10) have won seven of their last eight games, most recently defeating South Dakota State, Niagara and Sacred Heart at the Rebel Spring Games in Kissimmee, Florida.
Starter Erin Seiler (8-6, 1.25 ERA) has earned back-to-back MAC East Pitcher of the Week nods and has struck out 79 batters in 73.0 innings of work this spring.
Alyssa Nichols leads Akron at the plate with a .314 average and is tied for team best with eight RBIs.
GW leads the all-time series with Akron, 2-0, after taking two games from the Zips in 2013.
SCOUTING CANISIUS: The Golden Griffins (4-12) downed IUPUI twice over the weekend to split four games at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational.
Lindsey Silger (.326/.408/.651) has batted in a team-best 14 runs this spring while blasting a squad-high four home runs and scoring seven runs for Canisius. Moria Harris leads the team with a .350 average, starting all but one game for the Golden Griffins.
Erika Mackie owns a 3-5 record in the circle with a 3.15 ERA and a team-high seven starts with two complete games.
The Colonials and Golden Griffins will meet for the first time since 2010, when Canisius edged GW, 4-1.
SCOUTING GARDNER-WEBB: The Runnin' Bulldogs (9-8) look to bounce back after consecutive 8-0 losses at Charlotte on Tuesday.
Amanda Gomes (.385/.441/.712) leads Gardner-Webb with 14 RBIs and 10 extra-base hits, including three round-trippers and just three strikeouts on the season.
In the circle, Mackenzie Thompson's 6-1 record with a 2.90 ERA both mark team bests, while Summer Darnell (3-3, 3.61 ERA) has struck out 37 batters in 31.0 innings to average 8.35 strikeouts per game.
The Buff and Blue will face Gardner-Webb for just the second time in program history and the first since the Runnin' Bulldogs took a 4-0 win in 2011.
