Thursday, May 9
Amherst, MA
George Washington University
41-15
2
vs
1
UMass
25-21
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
R
H
E
George Washington
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
6
1
Massachusetts
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
6
3
Softball Edges UMass in A-10 Championship Thriller
5/9/2019 4:38:00 PM | Softball
Colonials next face Saint Joseph's on Friday at 11 a.m.
AMHERST, Mass. - Alessandra Ponce and Elena Shelepak tallied eighth-inning RBI singles and Sierra Lange tossed another gem to propel George Washington softball to a 2-1 win over No. 2 seed UMass in an extra-inning thriller Thursday at the Atlantic 10 Championship.
The third-seeded Colonials earned a matchup with No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's on Friday at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to Saturday's final.
GW followed Wednesday's 4-3 win over Saint Louis to open the conference tournament with a down-to-the-wire battle vs. the host Minutewomen at Sortino Field.
After Lange and UMass ace Kiara Oliver matched zeros over the first seven innings, the Colonials broke through in the eighth.Â
Jessica Linquist (error) and Jenna Cone (HBP) reached to open the frame and were in scoring position with two outs for Ponce, who ripped a hit up the middle to bring home Linquist and finally snap the scoreless deadlock.
Shelepak followed with her third hit of the day to score Cone and make it 2-0.
UMass used a pair of hits to push across a run of its own in the bottom of the inning, but Lange finished the victory with a strikeout to strand the tying run at third.
An All A-10 First Team pick, Lange was masterful in the circle, picking up her 28th win of the season with the eight-inning complete game. The sophomore hurler allowed a run on six hits and struck out seven.
GW had its chances over the first seven innings, putting runners on base in five different frames and twice advancing a runner to third with less than two outs.
Shelepak was responsible for half of GW's hits, going 3-for-3 with a walk. The junior third baseman led off the seventh with her ninth double of the season.
Ponce had a pair of singles and picked up her 35th RBI, while Cone reached twice with the HBP and a first-inning single.
This is the first time in program history GW has won its first two games at the A-10 Championship and its first time winning multiple games since its only conference final appearance in 2012.
UP NEXT:Â GW meets Saint Joseph's next with the winner moving into the final of the double-elimination tournament. The Hawks upset top-seeded Fordham, 3-1, earlier in the day. The loser will face Fordham, UMass or Saint Louis in the consolation final later Friday.
WATCH THIS:Â Hear from head coach Shane Winkler, Ponce and Shelepak after Thursday's win.
The third-seeded Colonials earned a matchup with No. 5 seed Saint Joseph's on Friday at 11 a.m. with the winner advancing to Saturday's final.
GW followed Wednesday's 4-3 win over Saint Louis to open the conference tournament with a down-to-the-wire battle vs. the host Minutewomen at Sortino Field.
After Lange and UMass ace Kiara Oliver matched zeros over the first seven innings, the Colonials broke through in the eighth.Â
Jessica Linquist (error) and Jenna Cone (HBP) reached to open the frame and were in scoring position with two outs for Ponce, who ripped a hit up the middle to bring home Linquist and finally snap the scoreless deadlock.
Shelepak followed with her third hit of the day to score Cone and make it 2-0.
UMass used a pair of hits to push across a run of its own in the bottom of the inning, but Lange finished the victory with a strikeout to strand the tying run at third.
An All A-10 First Team pick, Lange was masterful in the circle, picking up her 28th win of the season with the eight-inning complete game. The sophomore hurler allowed a run on six hits and struck out seven.
GW had its chances over the first seven innings, putting runners on base in five different frames and twice advancing a runner to third with less than two outs.
Shelepak was responsible for half of GW's hits, going 3-for-3 with a walk. The junior third baseman led off the seventh with her ninth double of the season.
Ponce had a pair of singles and picked up her 35th RBI, while Cone reached twice with the HBP and a first-inning single.
This is the first time in program history GW has won its first two games at the A-10 Championship and its first time winning multiple games since its only conference final appearance in 2012.
UP NEXT:Â GW meets Saint Joseph's next with the winner moving into the final of the double-elimination tournament. The Hawks upset top-seeded Fordham, 3-1, earlier in the day. The loser will face Fordham, UMass or Saint Louis in the consolation final later Friday.
WATCH THIS:Â Hear from head coach Shane Winkler, Ponce and Shelepak after Thursday's win.
"That was what we call a full team effort." - @eshells16
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) May 9, 2019
Hear from Head Coach Shane Winkler, Elena Shelepak and Sanie Ponce after our extra-inning win over UMass! #RaiseHigh pic.twitter.com/05xT1e0MuZ
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lange, Sierra (28-11)
L: OLIVER, K. (9-12)
Batting:
2B: Shelepak, Elena 1
RBI: Ponce, Alessandra 1 ; Shelepak, Elena 1
SH: Eslick, Hannah 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Linquist, Jessica 1 ; Cone, Jenna 1
HBP: Cone, Jenna 1
Batting:
RBI: CARBONE, K. 1
SH: STACEVICZ, E 1
SF: CARBONE, K. 1
Base Running:
RUNS: STACEVICZ, E 1
SB: VIDETTO, C. 1
HBP: ALLEN, K. 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
3
R
0
H
3
RBI
1
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballUT
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballIF
/ SoftballSoftball Gratitude Video
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