George Washington University
19-7
Lafayette
1-17
Softball Headed to Buff & Blue Challenge Championship
3/17/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Siena Box Score
Lafayette Box Score
WASHINGTON - Jenna Cone continued her recent offensive tear Saturday, driving in three runs in both games of GW softball's doubleheader sweep at the Buff and Blue Challenge.
The sophomore from California drove in runs with all three of her hits in a 6-4 win over Siena to open the day before she notched a two-run home run and an RBI double in a 7-6 victory over Lafayette. The Colonials extended their winning streak to 10 games and improved to 12-0 at GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus and 19-7 overall. They advance to the championship of their four-team event, where they will face Siena on Sunday afternoon.
Cone, the reigning Atlantic 10 Player of the Week, has stayed hot this weekend with eight hits and 11 RBIs over the four games. She leads the conference in RBIs (32) and has raised her batting average to .429.
GW 6, Siena 4: The Colonials trailed the Saints, 4-3, in the third before scoring the game's final three runs.
GW tied it in the bottom of the inning with Morgan Rinehart scoring after a leadoff double and went ahead with two runs in the fourth. Cone's single scored Marta Fuentes to break the tie and Elena Shelepak followed with an RBI groundout to plate Sidney Bloomfield.
Kaitlin Buff made the lead stand up with four shutout innings of relief to finish the game. The sophomore from California allowed just one hit in improving to 5-0 on the season with her second win in as many days.
Cone had three of GW's seven hits. Seven different Colonials worked walks in the game, as well.
GW 7, Lafayette 6: The Colonials completed the sweep with a 10-hit, eight-walk offensive attack and a gritty pitching effort from Sierra Lange.
GW took a 2-0 lead on Cone's first-inning home run and built the advantage to 7-3 with a three-run sixth before Lafayette launched a late-game rally. The Leopards plated three runs against Lange in the seventh before she induced a bases-loaded fly ball to close out the victory.
Lafayette's six runs tied the most Lange has given up this season, but the freshman from Texas managed to hang tough and earn her seventh win of the season.
GW's offense helped, highlighted by Cone's pair of extra-base hits. Alessandra Ponce had three hits in the victory, including a pair of doubles, to raise her team-leading batting average to .548, while Marta Fuentes continued to make an impact at the top of the lineup with three walks, two runs scored and two steals.
Olivia Ortlieb and Bloomfield recorded run-scoring hits, as well.
ON DECK: GW goes for the tournament title Sunday against Siena. The championship follows the consolation game between Lafayette and Brown, which starts at 10 a.m.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lange, Sierra (7-4)
L: Cook, Hannah (0-2)
Batting:
2B: Sweigart, Samantha 2 ; Skurla, Miranda 1 ; McDonnell, Ellen 1
RBI: Sweigart, Samantha 1 ; Skurla, Miranda 3 ; Wensel, Maddie 1 ; McDonnell, Ellen 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Sweigart, Samantha 1 ; Grover, Paige 2 ; Wensel, Brooke 1 ; Wensel, Maddie 1 ; McDonnell, Ellen 1
CS: McDonnell, Ellen 1
HBP: Wensel, Brooke 1 ; Skurla, Miranda 1
Batting:
2B: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Ponce, Alessandra 2 ; Ortlieb, Olivia 1
HR: Cone, Jenna 1
RBI: Bloomfield, Sidney 1 ; Cone, Jenna 3 ; Linquist, Jessica 1 ; Ortlieb, Olivia 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fuentes, Marta 2 ; Bloomfield, Sidney 1 ; Cone, Jenna 1 ; Bulanadi, Criza 1 ; Shelepak, Elena 1 ; Tejcek, Riley 1
SB: Fuentes, Marta 2 ; Tejcek, Riley 1 ; Linquist, Jessica 1
