George Washington University Athletics
Softball Hosts Massachusetts
3/28/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
Kaitlin BuffSo. || 5-8 || P
Lomita, CA
Buff is 6-0 with a 2.53 ERA in 36 innings this season. The sophomore left-hander has held opponents to a .217 batting average. On Feb. 28, she teamed with Ashley Pilcher on the fourth no-hitter in program history in a 16-0 win over Howard.
The Colonials (22-8, 2-1 A-10) are 15-1 on their home field this season and have won 13 of their past 14 games overall. This weekend, they'll face a UMass squad that is tied atop the conference standings after a sweep of La Salle last week.
LAST TIME OUT: GW took two of three games from St. Bonaventure last weekend to open A-10 play. The Colonials swept a doubleheader over the Bonnies before dropping the finale, 8-7.
Jenna Cone picked up her third straight A-10 Player of the Week award after homering in all three games of the series. The sophomore from California has put together a remarkable stat line during that span, hitting .742 (23-for-31) in 14 games over the past three weeks with 30 RBIs and 16 runs scored. She's reached base in every game and piled up 11 extra-base hits.
The offensive highlight came in Saturday's second game when Cone, Elena Shelepak and Morgan Rinehart hit back-to-back-to-back home runs in a 16-2 win. Shelepak went deep twice in the victory to tie a program record.
In the circle, Sarah Costlow (8-2) and Faith Weber (1-0) earned victories. The Colonials compiled a 3.32 ERA as a team on the weekend.
NATIONAL ATTENTION: GW is well represented among the national statistical leaders. Cone ranks seventh in the country in RBIs (42), 15th in batting average (.468), 19th in slugging percentage (.886), 25th in on-base percentage (.539) and 45th in home runs (8). Additionally, Marta Fuentes ranks seventh in runs per game (1.14) and eighth in steals per game (0.86), while Sidney Bloomfield ranks 91st in batting average (.410). Shelepak is No. 21 on the toughest-to-strikeout list with just two Ks in 82 at-bats, as well.
READY TO ROLL: The Colonials have gotten contributions up and down the lineup on their recent run. They are averaging 9.6 runs over their past 14 games with a .430 team batting average, while pitching to a 2.77 ERA with four shutouts. They've ended six of their 13 wins in that span early via run rule.
SCOUTING MASSACHUSETTS: The Minutewomen (14-10, 3-0) rolled past La Salle to start A-10 play, outscoring the Explorers, 26-3, in their sweep.
UMass ranks second behind GW in the A-10 with a .303 team average. Jena Cozza leads the conference in batting average (.500) and home runs (9).
ON DECK: GW closes out its homestand on Wednesday, April 4, with a matchup against crosstown foe Georgetown before heading to Rhode Island to continue A-10 play (April 7-8).
WATCH THIS: Hear from Bloomfield and Olivia Ortlieb before the weekend series vs. UMass.
Hear from freshmen Sidney Bloomfield and Olivia Ortlieb ahead of our home series vs. UMass. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/8L19nNh9Uc
- GW Softball (@GW_Softball) March 29, 2018
