George Washington University
8-10
NIAGARA
7-5
Softball Takes Two Walkoff Wins on Friday
3/17/2017 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Game 1 Box Score | Game 2 Box Score | Tournament Central
WASHINGTON - The George Washington softball team opened the three-day Capital Invitational in dramatic fashion, taking a pair of walkoff victories over Niagara at the GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus on Friday.
Rookies played the part of hero for the Colonials (9-10), as Elena Shelepak and Priscilla Martinez were responsible for three eighth-inning runs to give GW a 5-4 win to start the day and Jenna Cone supplied a walkoff two-run homer in the nightcap to lead the Buff and Blue to a 4-2 triumph.
The Colonials began game one with a run in the first as senior Megan Linn led off with a single and stole second. A double from Martinez gave GW an early 1-0 lead.
Niagara evened the score in the fourth, but the Colonials regained the edge in the fifth when Linn walked and again stole second. Freshman Jessica Linquist was the one to plate Linn this time with a single to put GW back on top, 2-1.
The Purple Eagles pushed the game to extra innings with a run in the seventh.
With the International Tie Breaker rule in effect, Niagara plated their runner on second plus one more to take a 4-2 advantage.
In the bottom of the eighth, junior Rochelle Draper began on second base and scored on Shelepak's second home run of the season to knot the score at 4-4. A pair of singles and a walk then loaded the bases for Martinez, who singled to left to plate the game-ending run and lift the Colonials over Niagara, 5-4.
Freshman Faith Weber earned her first career victory, coming in to pitch the eighth in relief of junior starter Sarah Costlow.
Game two saw a pitchers' duel through four scoreless innings before Niagara broke through with two hits and a walk for one run in the fifth.
The Colonials answered with two runs in the sixth when Cone walked and scored on a double from senior Paige Kovalsky. A single from Shelepak then plated Kovalsky to give GW a 2-1 advantage.
Niagara again sent the game to extras with a run in the seventh, this time with a solo home run with two outs.
With Linquist placed on second in the bottom of the eighth, Cone came to the plate and blasted her team-best ninth round-tripper of the season, a booming shot to right center to win the game by a score of 4-2.
Rookie Kaitlin Buff earned the complete-game win, allowing just six hits through eight innings of work.
Shelepak finished the day with three RBI, while Cone and Martinez each tallied two.
Cone is just three long balls away from snapping the program's single-season home runs record (11) set by then-freshman Victoria Valos in 2012.
The Colonials return to action on Saturday with games against Niagara (10 a.m.) and Penn State (2:30 p.m.) at the GW Softball Field.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Weber, Faith (1-2)
L: Johnston, Emily (0-1)
Batting:
2B: March, Sarah 1
RBI: March, Sarah 1 ; Orfano, Jerri Ann 1 ; Trifoso, Sarah 1 ; Gabriele, Maria 1
SH: Ward, Chanelle 2 ; Funk, Rachel 1
SF: Gabriele, Maria 1
Base Running:
RUNS: March, Sarah 1 ; Moody, Taylor 1 ; Watkins, Kendall 1 ; Funk, Rachel 1
SB: Watkins, Kendall 1 ; Trifoso, Sarah 1
Batting:
2B: Martinez, Priscilla 1
HR: Shelepak, Elena 1
RBI: Linquist, Jessica 1 ; Martinez, Priscilla 2 ; Shelepak, Elena 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Linn, Megan 2 ; Draper, Rochelle 1 ; Shelepak, Elena 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 1
SB: Linn, Megan 3
