George Washington University
31-18, 11-10
Saint Louis
26-26, 10-9
Softball Clinches A-10 Championship Berth
5/5/2018 12:00:00 AM | Softball
ST. LOUIS - Jenna Cone and Faith Weber cracked two-run home runs and Sierra Lange tossed her first career complete-game shutout to propel George Washington softball to an 8-0 win over Saint Louis in six innings Saturday.
The victory assures the Colonials of a top-six finish in the Atlantic 10 standings and a berth in next week's conference championship.
Following the run-rule victory, GW dropped the second game of a doubleheader, 9-4, at Billikens Sports Center. The Colonials head into Sunday's regular season finale at 31-19 and 11-11 in A-10 play.GW 8, Saint Louis 0: The Colonials jumped on the Billikens (27-26, 11-9) with four runs in the first inning and cruised to victory in the weekend opener.
Cone got the scoring started with her team-leading 13th home run of the season over the left field fence. The two-run shot scored Marta Fuentes, who singled to lead off the game.
The lead reached 4-0 with a pair of unearned runs later in the inning, including a two-out RBI single by Morgan Rinehart.
GW carried that lead into the fifth when Alessandra Ponce doubled home Lange before extending it to 8-0 an inning later. Priscilla Martinez scored Cone with an RBI single and then came home on Weber's pinch-hit home run. It was her first of the season and the second of her career.
Lange blanked Saint Louis along the way, yielding just four hits in the shutout. The freshman from Texas attacked the Billikens with four strikeouts against two walks in lowering her ERA to 3.32 for the season. She earned her team-leading 13th win of the season and third in as many starts.
Lange also contributed a pair of hits to the offensive effort and scored twice.
Cone reached base four times with the home run, her 16th double of the season, a walk and an HBP. Rinehart also collected a pair of hits in the victory.
Saint Louis 9, GW 4: The Billikens scored the first nine runs in the second game to even the series.
GW allowed three runs in the first, four in the second and two more in the third before it got on the board. Rochelle Draper's two-run single highlighted a two-run third inning, and Martinez added an RBI double in the fifth.
The Colonials loaded the bases in the seventh but couldn't pull any closer.
Elena Shelepak had three of GW's nine hits to increase her season average to .367, while both of Martinez's hits were doubles. Cone extended her program-record on-base streak to 34 games with a walk in the seventh.
Weber slowed the Billikens with three scoreless innings of relief to finish the day.
ON DECK: The Colonials and Bilikens close the regular season Sunday with a 1 p.m. first pitch. Both clubs will advance to the A-10 Championship, which begins next Wednesday at Fordham.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lange, Sierra (13-6)
L: Baalman (14-15)
Batting:
2B: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Ponce, Alessandra 1
HR: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Weber, Faith 1
RBI: Cone, Jenna 2 ; Martinez, Priscilla 1 ; Ponce, Alessandra 1 ; Weber, Faith 2 ; Rinehart, Morgan 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Fuentes, Marta 1 ; Cone, Jenna 2 ; Martinez, Priscilla 1 ; Shelepak, Elena 1 ; Lange, Sierra 2 ; Weber, Faith 1
SB: Fuentes, Marta 1 ; Lange, Sierra 1 ; Rinehart, Morgan 2
HBP: Cone, Jenna 1
Batting:
2B: Tarquinio 1
SH: Lomax 1
