George Washington University Athletics
GW Softball Hosts Fordham for Three-Game Set
4/7/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
WASHINGTON - The George Washington softball squad continues Atlantic 10 play with a three-game weekend set against defending conference champion Fordham at the GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus beginning on Saturday at noon.
The Colonials (17-15, 5-1 A-10) look to continue their strong start to league play after sweeping La Salle and taking two games from St. Bonaventure thus far.
Fordham (24-15, 7-1 A-10) has won three consecutive A-10 crowns and has won nine of its last 10 contests this season, including a pair of walk-off victories against St. Bonaventure on Wednesday.
"It's no secret that this weekend is a big series," said sixth-year head coach Stacey Schramm. "However, in my opinion, the last two weekends of A-10 play were the most important, mainly because we've been able to build momentum."
GW junior Monica Macchiarulo's .406 average sits atop the A-10 and her 17 stolen bases in 18 attempts leads the Colonials. Classmates Megan Linn (.398) and Paige Kovalsky (.323) are also having stellar seasons. Linn has scored a squad-high 27 runs, while Kovalsky's 21 RBIs leads the team. Kovalsky enters the weekend after an impressive outing on Wednesday, posting a 4-for-4 day at the plate with two doubles while earning the win in the circle. Kovalsky leads the conference with 16 two-baggers on the year and ranks second in the nation with .50 doubles per contest.
In conference play, Macchiarulo is batting a monstrous .600 (12-for-20) with six stolen bases as GW has outscored A-10 opponents, 40-22 through six games.
Sophomore Sarah Costlow (10-6 2.39 ERA) has tossed a team-high 108.1 innings on the year with nine complete games to lead the pitching staff and owns a 4-0 record and a 1.04 ERA against conference opponents, holding A-10 hitters to a .224 average. Rookie Jayme Cone has shared much of the conference pitching duties with Costlow, posting a 1-1 mark in three A-10 starts.
Fordham's Jessica Hughs (.388) leads the Rams offensively, leading the league with 35 runs, a .483 on-base percentage and 23 stolen bases. Amy Van Hoven (.307) sits second in the A-10 with 32 runs scored, and Fordham owns the top three run producers in the conference, as Syndey Canessa (30), Linsday Mayer (28) and Rachel Gillen (26) lead the A-10 in RBIs.
In the circle, Gillen (12-9, 4.13 ERA) has hurled a team-high 128.2 innings this spring, striking out a league-best 118 batters. As a staff, Fordham owns a 3.96 ERA and opposing hitters are batting .288 against the Rams.
"The key to winning the series is to continue to manufacture runs throughout the line-up and get strong outings from Sarah Costlow and Jayme Cone," said Schramm. " As long as we play the game one pitch at a time, and avoid letting moments get too big, I am confident that we'll have another fun weekend!"
First pitch of Saturday's doubleheader is slated for 12 p.m., and Sunday's series finale is also scheduled for 12 p.m. at the GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus.
