George Washington University Athletics
GW Softball Ends Season at A-10 Championship
5/12/2016 12:00:00 AM | Softball
UMass 9, GW 0 (5) Box Score | SLU 4, GW 3 Box Score
WASHINGTON - Junior Megan Linn set a new program record for career steals on Thursday, but the George Washington softball squad dropped two games on the first day of play in the Atlantic 10 Championship at the GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus to wrap the 2016 season.
Playing without injured Second Team All-Conference outfielder Monica Macchiarulo, the Colonials (23-29) fell to third-seeded Massachusetts (25-22) in the double elimination tournament's second game of the day, 9-0, in five innings before dropping a 4-3 decision to Saint Louis (25-25) in an elimination game.
GW battled hard in the face of elimination, bouncing back in the top of the fourth to tie the game against SLU after yielding a pair of runs in the first inning. Linn started the rally with an infield single then stole second and made history - Linn's swipe marked the 73rd of her career, surpassing the previous career mark set by Amanda Zakeri ('13). A ground ball advanced Linn to third and a fielder's choice by junior Paige Kovalsky that did not result in an out put runners on the corners. Kovalsky then swiped second to put two in scoring position for rookie Riley Tejcek. The freshman came through, driving in both runs with a single up the middle to tie the game, 2-2.
The Billikens regained the edge in the fifth, plating two - one unearned - in the bottom of the fifth.
GW answered with a run of its own in the sixth as Tejcek doubled with two outs then scored on a single up the middle by sophomore Rochelle Draper.
The Colonials attempted to rally in the top of the seventh as starting pitcher Sarah Costlow singled through the right side to start off the frame, but a diving grab by SLU's catcher in foul territory sparked a double play that ended the threat as Saint Louis took a 4-3 win to stay alive in the tournament.
Tejcek posted a 3-for-3 effort in the game with a run scored and two RBIs.
The Colonials were overpowered in their first game against UMass as the Minutewomen tallied eight hits - including a three-run home run in the first - through five innings to tally nine runs.
Three GW errors accounted for three unearned runs as the Colonials were unable to rally. Senior Carlee Gray tallied GW's lone hit in the squad's 9-0 defeat.
The Colonials set program records for team doubles (81), triples (21) and sacrifice hits (60) in 2016, while reaching the 20-win plateau for the sixth time in program history. Thursday afternoon marked GW's fourth-ever postseason appearance and first since 2013.
