George Washington University
17-3
Canisius
0-11
Softball Caps Perfect Colonial Classic
3/10/2019 8:11:00 PM | Softball
Jenna Cone cracked go-ahead grand slam vs. Manhattan
Cone punctuated an epic weekend at the Colonial Classic with her opposite field shot with two outs in the bottom of the sixth inning. It was the junior slugger's second of the day, fifth of the weekend and 37th of her career to move passed Victoria Valos for the top spot in program history.
Cone's first long ball Sunday came in GW's opener, a 13-5 win over Canisius in five innings. She batted .688 (11-for-16) in the Buff and Blue's five victories on the weekend with three doubles, five homers, 14 RBIs and 10 runs scored -- all team bests.
Those heroics paced an impressive team effort for GW at the annual tournament. The Colonials outscored their opponents 49-21 on the weekend with three victories by run rule to improve to a program-best 18-3 overall and 11-0 on their home field.
GW 5, Manhattan 4:Â Cone's grand slam turned out to be the difference in an entertaining battle in the weekend finale.
Trailing 2-1, GW scratched out a two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth. Marta Fuentes ripped a single into left and Sidney Bloomfield dropped down a bunt hit before Jessica Linquist reached on a dropped third strike to load the bases.
Cone rose to the moment, clearing the fence in right center to make it 5-2.
Sierra Lange ran into trouble in the top of the seventh but recovered in time to finish out the victory. With two runners in scoring position, she induced a game-ending popout to Cone at third to end it.
Lange earned her third victory of the Colonial Classic and Atlantic 10-best 13th overall with a gritty complete-game effort. The sophomore hurler allowed four runs (two earned) with six strikeouts.
Cone finished 3-for-4 with a single, double and the grand slam, while Priscilla Martinez drove in GW's other run with a first-inning double.
Fuentes stole a pair of bases, boosting her team-leading total to 14.
GW 13, Canisius 5 (5 innings):Â The Colonials scored in all five innings to take down the Golden Griffins in Sunday's opener.
GW used aggressive base running to plate three runs without a hit in the first inning before extending the lead to 4-0 in the second thanks to a leadoff triple by Fuentes. The advantage reached 8-1 an inning later when Priscilla Martinez smacked a two-run home run well over the left field fence and Alessandra Ponce added a two-run double.
After Canisius edged back within 8-5 with a four-run fourth, GW pulled away again by scoring the game's final five runs. Cone's homer was a solo shot in the fourth, and the Buff and Blue finished the victory with Elena Shelepak's walk-off two-run single in the bottom of the fifth.
GW did its damage at the plate via 10 hits and seven walks. Nine different Colonials recorded hits in the victory with first-year Morgan Kummer (2-for-2, HBP) recording the lone multi-hit effort.
For Martinez, the long ball was her first of the season and the eighth of her collegiate career. The junior from California also walked and scored in the opening inning.
In the circle, Faith Weber limited Canisius to one run over three innings to pick up her second victory of the season.
UP NEXT:Â GW travels to Towson for an afternoon doubleheader on Wednesday before returning to the Vern for next weekend's Buff and Blue Challenge. The Colonials are set to welcome Oakland, Stony Brook and Georgetown from Friday-Sunday.
WATCH THIS:Â Hear from head coach Shane Winkler and Cone after the Colonial Classic finale.
What a weekend! Hear from Head Coach Shane Winkler and Jenna Cone after we earned two more wins at our Colonial Classic. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/Cl3LpaSbKu
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) March 11, 2019
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Weber, Faith (2-0)
L: H. Tamaro (0-2)
Batting:
HR: B. Sockwell 1
RBI: E. Hufford 1 ; K. Paradowsk 1 ; H. Catallo-S 1 ; B. Sockwell 1 ; M. Altman 1
Base Running:
RUNS: E. Hufford 1 ; B. Sockwell 1 ; D. Keller 1 ; A. Barnett 1 ; M. Altman 1
SB: M. Altman 1
CS: E. Hufford 1
Batting:
2B: Ponce, Alessandra 1
3B: Fuentes, Marta 1
HR: Cone, Jenna 1 ; Martinez, Priscilla 1
RBI: Linquist, Jessica 1 ; Cone, Jenna 1 ; Lange, Sierra 1 ; Shelepak, Elena 2 ; Martinez, Priscilla 2 ; Kummer, Morgan 1 ; Ponce, Alessandra 2
SF: Linquist, Jessica 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Linquist, Jessica 1 ; Cone, Jenna 1 ; Bulanadi, Criza 1 ; Lange, Sierra 1 ; Tejcek, Riley 1 ; Martinez, Priscilla 2 ; Eslick, Hannah 2 ; Fuentes, Marta 3 ; Bloomfield, Sidney 1
CS: Kummer, Morgan 1
HBP: Kummer, Morgan 1
