George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
10-7
Princeton
0-7
Softball Kicks Off Colonial Classic with Sweep
3/9/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
WASHINGTON - A standout pitching effort from Sarah Costlow in her first home start of the season highlighted a George Washington softball sweep to open its Colonial Classic on Friday.
The senior from California tossed a complete game in the opener, helping GW drop Princeton, 3-1, at GW Softball Field on the Mount Vernon Campus. The Colonials followed that up with an 11-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson in five innings to improve their record to 11-7 overall and a perfect 4-0 at home.Jenna Cone reached base in all six of her plate appearances in the doubleheader with three hits and three walks, while Jessica Linquist drove in a combined four runs with her three total hits.
GW 3, Princeton 1: Costlow's gem propelled the Colonials against the Tigers. The veteran right-hander scattered eight hits over seven innings with four strikeouts against one walk to improve to 5-1.
Costlow allowed a first-inning run before deftly pitching around trouble after that. Princeton (0-7) loaded the bases in the fifth and brought the tying run to the plate in both the sixth and seventh innings, but each time the GW hurler managed to keep the 3-1 lead intact.
GW built its advantage with single runs in the first, second and fourth. Cone doubled in Sidney Bloomfield with the first run before Linquist brought home the final two with run-scoring hits, including a double of her own.
Morgan Rinehart and Rochelle Draper both notched a hit and a run scored in the victory.
GW 11, Fairleigh Dickinson 1 (5 innings): The Colonials used an 11-hit attack to complete the sweep via run rule. Cone, Rinehart and Elena Shelepak all had two hits apiece.
GW again trailed 1-0 after a half inning but quickly asserted control. Marta Fuentes led off the bottom of the inning with a triple to set the tone for a banner offensive performance. The Colonials tied it on Shelepak's RBI single and took the lead for good on Linquist's sacrifice fly.
GW scored in all four of its at-bats against the Knights (3-7). Rochelle Draper's RBI double was one of five hits in a four-run third inning.
The Colonials plated four more in the fourth, taking advantage of Fairleigh Dickinson miscues. First, Linquist served one into left and raced all the way around the bases when the ball was misplayed. Then, Rinehart produced a similar highlight, scoring on a double and two-base error by the right fielder.
That was more than enough to get Sierra Lange her fifth win of the season. The freshman hurler allowed one run on four hits with five strikeouts over the first four innings before handing off to Faith Weber for the final frame.
ON DECK: The Colonial Classic continues Saturday with GW facing Fairleigh Dickinson (12:15 p.m.) and Princeton (2:30 p.m.) again. The Knights and Tigers will kick off the day against each other at 10 a.m. The event wraps with another doubleheader Sunday.
WATCH THIS: Hear from Cone and Costlow after Friday's sweep.
A sweep to start the Colonial Classic! Hear from Jenna Cone and Sarah Costlow after wins over Princeton and Fairleigh Dickinson. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/LU06AiqFHM
-- GW Softball (@GW_Softball) March 9, 2018
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Costlow, Sarah (5-1)
L: Reynolds, Allie (0-3)
Batting:
RBI: Grant, Kaylee 1
SH: Waslawski, Kaitlyn 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Donahey, Megan 1
SB: Pierce, Kylee 1
CS: Waslawski, Kaitlyn 1
HBP: Grant, Kaylee 1
Batting:
2B: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Draper, Rochelle 1
3B: Linquist, Jessica 1
RBI: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Linquist, Jessica 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Bloomfield, Sidney 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 1 ; Draper, Rochelle 1
SB: Bloomfield, Sidney 2 ; Rinehart, Morgan 1
