George Washington University Athletics
Thursday, May 16
Lynchburg, VA
1:00 PM
George Washington University
vs
Marshall
Softball Ready for Postseason Debut
5/15/2019 9:00:00 AM | Softball
Colonials open at NISC Liberty Regional on Thursday
Fresh off winning a share of its first Atlantic 10 title, George Washington softball is set to make its first postseason appearance at the Liberty Regional of the National Invitational Softball Championship.
The Colonials (42-16) start the double-elimination regional vs. Marshall (39-20) on Thursday with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The winner of GW's opener advances to meet Kent State later Thursday, while the loser drops into the consolation bracket for an elimination game on Friday afternoon.
Appalachian State, Rutgers and the host Flames round out the six-team regional in an event billed as the NIT of Softball.
LAST TIME OUT: GW was named A-10 co-champion with Fordham after last Sunday's winner-take-all final was rained out. The Colonials advanced to their first conference final since 2012 after winning three straight one-run games last week to open the tournament.
GW kicked off its charge to a championship last Wednesday with a 4-3 triumph over Saint Louis, highlighted by a three-run home run from Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Jenna Cone. The Colonials then beat host UMass, 2-1, in eight innings behind a gem from ace Sierra Lange before claiming a thrilling 12-11 victory over Saint Joseph's on Lange's walk-off single.
Lange led the way in the circle, tossing four complete games with 21 strikeouts over 28 innings, while Cone compiled a team-high .588 on-base percentage thanks to four hits, four walks and two HBPs.
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Alessandra Ponce (.500 batting average, two RBIs)Â was also selected to the A-10 All-Championship Team for her part in stoking an offense that hit .322 for the week.
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ELITE COMPANY:Â With a .347 team batting average, GW checks in third nationally behind only No. 1 Oklahoma (.366) and No. 16 James Madison (.349).
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Under first-year head coach Shane Winkler, the Colonials have piled up a program-record 557 hits over 58 games. They've reached double figures 27 times, including against Saint Louis (10 hits) and Saint Joseph's (12) at the A-10 Championship.
The Buff and Blue also rank in the top 20 nationally in doubles per game (1.78, third), triples per game (0.33, 11th), on-base percentage (.411, 11th), scoring (6.28, 16th) and slugging percentage (.517, 18th).
GW owns three of the top six individual batting averages in the A-10 with Lange (.413), Cone (.393) and Jessica Linquist (.387). All three Colonials rank in the top 110 nationally.
MAKING HISTORY:Â Last Tuesday, Cone became the first Colonial to be named A-10 Player of the Year.
The junior from California earned the honor with an extraordinary spring at the plate. Her homer at the A-10 Championship was her 20th of the season to tie Fordham's Elise Fortier (2013, 2014) for the conference single-season record. She's also taken down the program marks for RBIs (66), extra-base hits (34), total bases (146) and HBPs (13) this year.
Earlier this season, Cone became GW's career leader in both home runs and RBIs. She enters the NISC with 50 home runs and 186 RBIs in 163 games as a Colonial.
SIERRA'S STUNNING STATS:Â Lange has set GW records in nearly every pitching category this season, posting 29 wins with a 2.85 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 248 1/3 innings. The sophomore from Texas ranks fourth nationally in victories and 24th in strikeouts.Â
An All A-10 First Team pick, Lange led the league with 12 wins vs. conference competition during the regular season and then added three more at the A-10 Championship. She's tossed five shutouts this spring and earned a pair of wins over top-75 RPI opponents (North Carolina and UNC Greensboro).
Lange has also gotten it done at the plate, tallying a program-record 81 hits to rank third in the country. Her .413 batting average (81-for-196) leads the A-10, and she ranks among the top 10 in the conference in runs (49, fourth), doubles (17, fourth), triples (6, first), RBIs (38, 10th) and steals (17, sixth).
IT STARTS AT THE TOP:Â Linquist has sparked the GW offense with her consistency at the top of the batting order this season. The junior from New Jersey enters this week with a program-record 64 runs scored and is just one away from equaling the A-10 record, currently held by Sarah Prezioso of Temple (2013).
An All A-10 Second Team pick, Linquist tallied the longest recorded hitting streak in the country since 2014 with a run earlier this season that reached 28 games. She also put together a program-record streak of 38 consecutive games reaching base.
After having her sophomore season cut short by a knee injury, Linquist has come back strong to reach base safely in 51 of 58 games on the season, compiling a .500 on-base percentage. She posted a .529 OBP in four contests at the A-10 Championship with four hits, four walks and an HBP.
DOUBLING UP THE COMPETITION: Ponce slammed her 18th double of the season last Saturday against Fordham, moving within one of Victoria Valos' program record. The sophomore from Nevada's total ranks 17th nationally.Â
She now has 31 two-baggers and counting over her first two collegiate seasons to rank 10th in program history.
Ponce isn't the only Colonial chasing that mark, either. Lange (17) and Linquist (17) are close behind.
With 108 doubles, GW has already broken the team record for doubles in a season. Thirteen different Colonials have contributed to that total with Priscilla Martinez (14) and Cone (12) also in double digits.
SCOUTING THE FIELD:Â Marshall (No. 73) is among four teams in the regional with a top-100 RPI.
The Thundering Herd finished runner-up in Conference USA fueled by All-Conference First Team picks Aly Harrell (.567 OBP, 14 HR) and Mya Stevenson (.338 BA, 18 HR).
Liberty (37-20, No. 57 RPI) makes its third straight postseason appearance after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament last season and winning the inaugural NISC in 2017.
Kent State (27-24, No. 70), Rutgers (28-24, No. 88) and Appalachian State (31-23, No. 108) are all making their first appearances in this event, as well.
The Colonials (42-16) start the double-elimination regional vs. Marshall (39-20) on Thursday with a 1 p.m. first pitch at Liberty Softball Stadium.
The winner of GW's opener advances to meet Kent State later Thursday, while the loser drops into the consolation bracket for an elimination game on Friday afternoon.
Appalachian State, Rutgers and the host Flames round out the six-team regional in an event billed as the NIT of Softball.
LAST TIME OUT: GW was named A-10 co-champion with Fordham after last Sunday's winner-take-all final was rained out. The Colonials advanced to their first conference final since 2012 after winning three straight one-run games last week to open the tournament.
GW kicked off its charge to a championship last Wednesday with a 4-3 triumph over Saint Louis, highlighted by a three-run home run from Atlantic 10 Player of the Year Jenna Cone. The Colonials then beat host UMass, 2-1, in eight innings behind a gem from ace Sierra Lange before claiming a thrilling 12-11 victory over Saint Joseph's on Lange's walk-off single.
Lange led the way in the circle, tossing four complete games with 21 strikeouts over 28 innings, while Cone compiled a team-high .588 on-base percentage thanks to four hits, four walks and two HBPs.
Â
Alessandra Ponce (.500 batting average, two RBIs)Â was also selected to the A-10 All-Championship Team for her part in stoking an offense that hit .322 for the week.
Â
ELITE COMPANY:Â With a .347 team batting average, GW checks in third nationally behind only No. 1 Oklahoma (.366) and No. 16 James Madison (.349).
Â
Under first-year head coach Shane Winkler, the Colonials have piled up a program-record 557 hits over 58 games. They've reached double figures 27 times, including against Saint Louis (10 hits) and Saint Joseph's (12) at the A-10 Championship.
The Buff and Blue also rank in the top 20 nationally in doubles per game (1.78, third), triples per game (0.33, 11th), on-base percentage (.411, 11th), scoring (6.28, 16th) and slugging percentage (.517, 18th).
GW owns three of the top six individual batting averages in the A-10 with Lange (.413), Cone (.393) and Jessica Linquist (.387). All three Colonials rank in the top 110 nationally.
MAKING HISTORY:Â Last Tuesday, Cone became the first Colonial to be named A-10 Player of the Year.
The junior from California earned the honor with an extraordinary spring at the plate. Her homer at the A-10 Championship was her 20th of the season to tie Fordham's Elise Fortier (2013, 2014) for the conference single-season record. She's also taken down the program marks for RBIs (66), extra-base hits (34), total bases (146) and HBPs (13) this year.
Earlier this season, Cone became GW's career leader in both home runs and RBIs. She enters the NISC with 50 home runs and 186 RBIs in 163 games as a Colonial.
SIERRA'S STUNNING STATS:Â Lange has set GW records in nearly every pitching category this season, posting 29 wins with a 2.85 ERA and 222 strikeouts in 248 1/3 innings. The sophomore from Texas ranks fourth nationally in victories and 24th in strikeouts.Â
An All A-10 First Team pick, Lange led the league with 12 wins vs. conference competition during the regular season and then added three more at the A-10 Championship. She's tossed five shutouts this spring and earned a pair of wins over top-75 RPI opponents (North Carolina and UNC Greensboro).
Lange has also gotten it done at the plate, tallying a program-record 81 hits to rank third in the country. Her .413 batting average (81-for-196) leads the A-10, and she ranks among the top 10 in the conference in runs (49, fourth), doubles (17, fourth), triples (6, first), RBIs (38, 10th) and steals (17, sixth).
IT STARTS AT THE TOP:Â Linquist has sparked the GW offense with her consistency at the top of the batting order this season. The junior from New Jersey enters this week with a program-record 64 runs scored and is just one away from equaling the A-10 record, currently held by Sarah Prezioso of Temple (2013).
An All A-10 Second Team pick, Linquist tallied the longest recorded hitting streak in the country since 2014 with a run earlier this season that reached 28 games. She also put together a program-record streak of 38 consecutive games reaching base.
After having her sophomore season cut short by a knee injury, Linquist has come back strong to reach base safely in 51 of 58 games on the season, compiling a .500 on-base percentage. She posted a .529 OBP in four contests at the A-10 Championship with four hits, four walks and an HBP.
DOUBLING UP THE COMPETITION: Ponce slammed her 18th double of the season last Saturday against Fordham, moving within one of Victoria Valos' program record. The sophomore from Nevada's total ranks 17th nationally.Â
She now has 31 two-baggers and counting over her first two collegiate seasons to rank 10th in program history.
Ponce isn't the only Colonial chasing that mark, either. Lange (17) and Linquist (17) are close behind.
With 108 doubles, GW has already broken the team record for doubles in a season. Thirteen different Colonials have contributed to that total with Priscilla Martinez (14) and Cone (12) also in double digits.
SCOUTING THE FIELD:Â Marshall (No. 73) is among four teams in the regional with a top-100 RPI.
The Thundering Herd finished runner-up in Conference USA fueled by All-Conference First Team picks Aly Harrell (.567 OBP, 14 HR) and Mya Stevenson (.338 BA, 18 HR).
Liberty (37-20, No. 57 RPI) makes its third straight postseason appearance after qualifying for the NCAA Tournament last season and winning the inaugural NISC in 2017.
Kent State (27-24, No. 70), Rutgers (28-24, No. 88) and Appalachian State (31-23, No. 108) are all making their first appearances in this event, as well.
Players Mentioned
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