George Washington University Athletics
Saturday, April 13
Amherst, MA
2:00 PM
George Washington University
at
Massachusetts
Photo by: Zachary Webster
Softball Visits UMass for A-10 Showdown
4/12/2019 10:07:00 AM | Softball
Colonials look to keep climbing conference standings
Riding a five-game winning streak, George Washington softball heads to Massachusetts this weekend with a chance to keep climbing the Atlantic 10 standings.
The Colonials (30-11, 6-3 A-10) will face off against the first-place Minutewomen (18-15, 6-1) at Sortino Field in Amherst, Mass., site of the 2019 A-10 Championship. The three-game series opens with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. before finishing Sunday with a noon first pitch. (Please note the new time for Saturday's start.)
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW rolled to a sweep of Saint Louis last weekend, outscoring the Billikens, 28-5, in three victories. It was the first three-game A-10 sweep for the Buff and Blue since March 2016.
GW dominated thanks to an offense that hit .452 for the series, led by Alessandra Ponce, who went 6-for-8 with four extra-base hits en route to her first career A-10 Player of the Week award.
Sierra Lange had six hits in 10 at-bats on the weekend, highlighted by a 4-for-4 effort in Sunday's finale to equal the program's single-game record for hits.Â
Jenna Cone homered in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader and finished the weekend with five RBIs, while Jessica Linquist had hits in all three games and scored a team-high five runs.
Lange was also strong in the circle, picking up wins in all three games. The versatile sophomore compiled a 2.50 ERA over 14 innings in the series with 15 strikeouts.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS:Â After another big offensive weekend, GW moved up to second in the nation in team batting average. The Colonials (.362) sit behind only Oklahoma (.380) with four weeks left in the regular season.
The Colonials have received production throughout their lineup to average 6.5 runs (18th nationally) and 10.1 hits per game. They've piled up double-digit hits 23 times through 41 games, including a 14-hit effort in Sunday's finale vs. Saint Louis to match a season high.
SUPERB STREAK: With a 28-game hitting streak, Linquist has entered impressive company.Â
In addition to being a program record, Linquist's streak ranks tied for 17th in NCAA Division I history, per the national record book, and marks the longest recorded run since Missouri's Taylor Gadbois hit in 29 straight in 2014.
Linquist has shown remarkable consistency out of the leadoff spot for the Buff and Blue, hitting .407 (35-for-86) with a .509 on-base percentage, plus 31 runs scored and 23 RBIs in that span. The junior from New Jersey has also set a GW record by reaching base in 37 consecutive games, a stretch that dates back to the season's opening weekend.
TOPPING THE CHARTS:Â Cone has taken down a pair of GW career records already this season, becoming the all-time leader in home runs (46) and RBIs (174).
The junior slugger set the home run record with a go-ahead grand slam in a win over Manhattan on March 10 before reaching the RBI mark with a two-run shot vs. Saint Louis last Saturday. She passed Victoria Valos ('15) on both lists.
With 16 home runs and 54 RBIs this season, Cone is within reach of besting her own single-season records in both categories (18 HR in 2017, 61 RBI in 2018).
SIERRA'S SENSATIONAL STATS:Â Sierra Lange has been among the nation's most outstanding two-way players this season.
Lange leads the nation in hits (63) while ranking 23rd in the country in batting average (.441). The sophomore from Texas needs just three more hits to become the program's single-season leader. Offensively, she has already set career highs in doubles (12), triples (5) and runs (34).
In the circle, Lange's 18 wins are already a program record for a season. She also leads the A-10 in strikeouts (148), complete games (18) and innings (154 2/3) and ranks fourth in ERA (2.58).
SCOUTING UMASS:Â After going unbeaten in A-10 play last season, the Minutewomen are back on top of the standings through three weeks of conference action. They most recently swept three games from La Salle on their home field last weekend.
Kiara Oliver, the 2018 A-10 Pitcher of the Year, has earned five of the team's six wins in conference play, while Kaitlin Stavinoha is the A-10's second-leading hitter with a .427 batting average (47-for-110).
ON DECK:Â GW is back on the Mount Vernon Campus next Wednesday to host George Mason for an A-10 doubleheader. They hit the road again next weekend for a three-game conference series at St. Bonaventure.
WATCH THIS:Â Hear from head coach Shane Winkler and Linquist before the trip to UMass.
The Colonials (30-11, 6-3 A-10) will face off against the first-place Minutewomen (18-15, 6-1) at Sortino Field in Amherst, Mass., site of the 2019 A-10 Championship. The three-game series opens with a Saturday doubleheader beginning at 2 p.m. before finishing Sunday with a noon first pitch. (Please note the new time for Saturday's start.)
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW rolled to a sweep of Saint Louis last weekend, outscoring the Billikens, 28-5, in three victories. It was the first three-game A-10 sweep for the Buff and Blue since March 2016.
GW dominated thanks to an offense that hit .452 for the series, led by Alessandra Ponce, who went 6-for-8 with four extra-base hits en route to her first career A-10 Player of the Week award.
Sierra Lange had six hits in 10 at-bats on the weekend, highlighted by a 4-for-4 effort in Sunday's finale to equal the program's single-game record for hits.Â
Jenna Cone homered in both ends of Saturday's doubleheader and finished the weekend with five RBIs, while Jessica Linquist had hits in all three games and scored a team-high five runs.
Lange was also strong in the circle, picking up wins in all three games. The versatile sophomore compiled a 2.50 ERA over 14 innings in the series with 15 strikeouts.
HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS:Â After another big offensive weekend, GW moved up to second in the nation in team batting average. The Colonials (.362) sit behind only Oklahoma (.380) with four weeks left in the regular season.
The Colonials have received production throughout their lineup to average 6.5 runs (18th nationally) and 10.1 hits per game. They've piled up double-digit hits 23 times through 41 games, including a 14-hit effort in Sunday's finale vs. Saint Louis to match a season high.
SUPERB STREAK: With a 28-game hitting streak, Linquist has entered impressive company.Â
In addition to being a program record, Linquist's streak ranks tied for 17th in NCAA Division I history, per the national record book, and marks the longest recorded run since Missouri's Taylor Gadbois hit in 29 straight in 2014.
Linquist has shown remarkable consistency out of the leadoff spot for the Buff and Blue, hitting .407 (35-for-86) with a .509 on-base percentage, plus 31 runs scored and 23 RBIs in that span. The junior from New Jersey has also set a GW record by reaching base in 37 consecutive games, a stretch that dates back to the season's opening weekend.
TOPPING THE CHARTS:Â Cone has taken down a pair of GW career records already this season, becoming the all-time leader in home runs (46) and RBIs (174).
The junior slugger set the home run record with a go-ahead grand slam in a win over Manhattan on March 10 before reaching the RBI mark with a two-run shot vs. Saint Louis last Saturday. She passed Victoria Valos ('15) on both lists.
With 16 home runs and 54 RBIs this season, Cone is within reach of besting her own single-season records in both categories (18 HR in 2017, 61 RBI in 2018).
SIERRA'S SENSATIONAL STATS:Â Sierra Lange has been among the nation's most outstanding two-way players this season.
Lange leads the nation in hits (63) while ranking 23rd in the country in batting average (.441). The sophomore from Texas needs just three more hits to become the program's single-season leader. Offensively, she has already set career highs in doubles (12), triples (5) and runs (34).
In the circle, Lange's 18 wins are already a program record for a season. She also leads the A-10 in strikeouts (148), complete games (18) and innings (154 2/3) and ranks fourth in ERA (2.58).
SCOUTING UMASS:Â After going unbeaten in A-10 play last season, the Minutewomen are back on top of the standings through three weeks of conference action. They most recently swept three games from La Salle on their home field last weekend.
Kiara Oliver, the 2018 A-10 Pitcher of the Year, has earned five of the team's six wins in conference play, while Kaitlin Stavinoha is the A-10's second-leading hitter with a .427 batting average (47-for-110).
ON DECK:Â GW is back on the Mount Vernon Campus next Wednesday to host George Mason for an A-10 doubleheader. They hit the road again next weekend for a three-game conference series at St. Bonaventure.
WATCH THIS:Â Hear from head coach Shane Winkler and Linquist before the trip to UMass.
We're off to UMass this weekend! Head Coach Shane Winkler and Jess Linquist preview the series vs. the Minutewomen. #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/Q0S1vwhl6E
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) April 12, 2019
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