Thursday, February 28
Chapel Hill, NC
11:00 AM
George Washington University
vs
Florida Atlantic
Softball Ready for Challenge at Carolina Classic
2/26/2019 2:35:00 PM | Softball
Colonials set for five games in four days at UNC
Riding a five-game winning streak, George Washington softball opens play Thursday at the Carolina Classic in Chapel Hill, N.C.
The Colonials are set to face five different opponents over four days at Anderson Softball Stadium, starting with a doubleheader against Florida Atlantic and host North Carolina.Â
They'll also tackle matchups against Fairfield on Friday and Maryland on Saturday before closing the weekend Sunday against UNC Greensboro, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW altered its schedule because of weather and proceeded to sweep a pair of doubleheaders on its home field.Â
The Colonials downed Mount St. Mary's twice on Friday afternoon, taking the second game, 7-6, on Faith Weber's walk-off single. On Sunday, they beat Lafayette twice with the highlight a one-hit, 14-strikeout shutout courtesy of standout hurler Sierra Lange in the opener.
Lange was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week for the second time already this season in recognition of that excellence in the circle. The sophomore hurler earned three wins and posted a 1.40 ERA across 15 innings with 26 strikeouts. She was also GW's leading hitter with a .692 average (9-for-13), including three extra-base hits.
Jenna Cone captured A-10 Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in her decorated career after hitting .571 (8-for-14) with a home run and two doubles over the four games. The junior from California scored four times and drove in three runs.
STILL SWINGING IT:Â After ranking sixth nationally with a .328 team batting average in 2018, GW is off to an even better offensive start through nine games. The Colonials are hitting .375 as a group, a mark which is again good for sixth in the country in the early going.
To kick off its first season under head coach Shane Winkler, GW is averaging 10 hits per game. Hannah Eslick (7-for-13), Sierra Lange (14-for-27) and Sidney Bloomfield (11-for-21) are all batting .500 or better after two weekends of play.
JOLT FROM JESS: After a knee injury cut her sophomore season short, Jessica Linquist is back in the lineup and powering the Colonials out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order with a .481 average and .963 slugging percentage so far. The junior from New Jersey has produced six multi-hit games already, in addition to playing quality defense behind the plate and in the outfield.
Linquist -- who entered the season without a home run in her career -- launched her third round-tripper of the season in the second game of last Sunday's doubleheader. The two-run shot was part of a four-RBI effort to push her team-leading total to 12. She also leads the Buff and Blue with 10 runs scored.
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC:Â The Owls have won five straight to improve to 8-7 on the season. Six of their losses have come vs. ranked foes.
This will be GW's first-ever meeting with Florida Atlantic.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA:Â The Tar Heels have hung tough against a difficult schedule with three wins against ranked opponents highlighting their 6-7 start.
Last weekend, they dropped four of five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in California with the lone win coming against Utah.
 The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, 2-0, with the last meeting coming on Feb. 13, 2009.
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: Picked second in the MAAC preseason poll, the Stags started their season last weekend with two wins in three games at the Campbell Invitational. After opening with a 7-6 loss to Oakland, they beat La Salle and the host Camels via run rule. GW dropped its only previous meeting in the series during the 2006 season.
SCOUTING MARYLAND: The Terrapins are 9-6 after taking three of five games at the Amy S. Harrison Classic in California last weekend. Taylor Okada is their leading hitter with a .426 average through 15 games with three doubles and three triples. GW won the last meeting in the series, 9-7, on its home field on March 5, 2016.
SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO: The Spartans advanced to the national tournament last season as the Southern Conference champions, earning a spot in the NCAA Regional hosted by South Carolina. This season, they are 8-6, most recently winning three of four games at their UNCG Invitational on Sunday and Monday. This is the fifth time in six years the Colonials have UNCG on the schedule. Last time, they split a pair of meetings in as part of the 2016 UNCG Invitational.
ON DECK: GW opens a 17-game homestand on March 5 with a midweek doubleheader against crosstown foe Howard. The Colonials will then welcome Canisius, UMBC and Manhattan for the Colonial Classic on March 8-10 before hosting the Buff and Blue Challenge the following weekend.
WATCH THIS: Hear from Winkler ahead of the Carolina Classic.
The Colonials are set to face five different opponents over four days at Anderson Softball Stadium, starting with a doubleheader against Florida Atlantic and host North Carolina.Â
They'll also tackle matchups against Fairfield on Friday and Maryland on Saturday before closing the weekend Sunday against UNC Greensboro, which advanced to the NCAA Tournament last season.
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW altered its schedule because of weather and proceeded to sweep a pair of doubleheaders on its home field.Â
The Colonials downed Mount St. Mary's twice on Friday afternoon, taking the second game, 7-6, on Faith Weber's walk-off single. On Sunday, they beat Lafayette twice with the highlight a one-hit, 14-strikeout shutout courtesy of standout hurler Sierra Lange in the opener.
Lange was named A-10 Pitcher of the Week for the second time already this season in recognition of that excellence in the circle. The sophomore hurler earned three wins and posted a 1.40 ERA across 15 innings with 26 strikeouts. She was also GW's leading hitter with a .692 average (9-for-13), including three extra-base hits.
Jenna Cone captured A-10 Player of the Week honors for the fourth time in her decorated career after hitting .571 (8-for-14) with a home run and two doubles over the four games. The junior from California scored four times and drove in three runs.
STILL SWINGING IT:Â After ranking sixth nationally with a .328 team batting average in 2018, GW is off to an even better offensive start through nine games. The Colonials are hitting .375 as a group, a mark which is again good for sixth in the country in the early going.
To kick off its first season under head coach Shane Winkler, GW is averaging 10 hits per game. Hannah Eslick (7-for-13), Sierra Lange (14-for-27) and Sidney Bloomfield (11-for-21) are all batting .500 or better after two weekends of play.
JOLT FROM JESS: After a knee injury cut her sophomore season short, Jessica Linquist is back in the lineup and powering the Colonials out of the No. 2 spot in the batting order with a .481 average and .963 slugging percentage so far. The junior from New Jersey has produced six multi-hit games already, in addition to playing quality defense behind the plate and in the outfield.
Linquist -- who entered the season without a home run in her career -- launched her third round-tripper of the season in the second game of last Sunday's doubleheader. The two-run shot was part of a four-RBI effort to push her team-leading total to 12. She also leads the Buff and Blue with 10 runs scored.
SCOUTING FLORIDA ATLANTIC:Â The Owls have won five straight to improve to 8-7 on the season. Six of their losses have come vs. ranked foes.
This will be GW's first-ever meeting with Florida Atlantic.
SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA:Â The Tar Heels have hung tough against a difficult schedule with three wins against ranked opponents highlighting their 6-7 start.
Last weekend, they dropped four of five games at the Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in California with the lone win coming against Utah.
 The Tar Heels lead the all-time series, 2-0, with the last meeting coming on Feb. 13, 2009.
SCOUTING FAIRFIELD: Picked second in the MAAC preseason poll, the Stags started their season last weekend with two wins in three games at the Campbell Invitational. After opening with a 7-6 loss to Oakland, they beat La Salle and the host Camels via run rule. GW dropped its only previous meeting in the series during the 2006 season.
SCOUTING MARYLAND: The Terrapins are 9-6 after taking three of five games at the Amy S. Harrison Classic in California last weekend. Taylor Okada is their leading hitter with a .426 average through 15 games with three doubles and three triples. GW won the last meeting in the series, 9-7, on its home field on March 5, 2016.
SCOUTING UNC GREENSBORO: The Spartans advanced to the national tournament last season as the Southern Conference champions, earning a spot in the NCAA Regional hosted by South Carolina. This season, they are 8-6, most recently winning three of four games at their UNCG Invitational on Sunday and Monday. This is the fifth time in six years the Colonials have UNCG on the schedule. Last time, they split a pair of meetings in as part of the 2016 UNCG Invitational.
ON DECK: GW opens a 17-game homestand on March 5 with a midweek doubleheader against crosstown foe Howard. The Colonials will then welcome Canisius, UMBC and Manhattan for the Colonial Classic on March 8-10 before hosting the Buff and Blue Challenge the following weekend.
WATCH THIS: Hear from Winkler ahead of the Carolina Classic.
Excellent opportunity for our group coming up with five games over four days against tough competition at the Carolina Classic! Head Coach Shane Winkler previews the week ahead. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/wplWP9RekD
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) February 26, 2019
Players Mentioned
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