Friday, May 21
Baton Rouge, LA
6:30 PM
George Washington University
vs
Louisiana
Softball Set for NCAA Debut at Baton Rouge Regional
5/19/2021 4:57:00 PM | Softball
Buff & Blue face Louisiana in Friday opener
After sweeping the Atlantic 10 regular season and tournament titles, GW softball is set to make its NCAA debut at the Baton Rouge Regional.
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The third-seeded Buff and Blue open play on Friday in a 6:30 p.m. start vs. No. 2 Louisiana at LSU's Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. The host Tigers will face No. 4 McNeese State in the first game of the day.
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All four teams will play again Saturday as part of the double-elimination format before a champion is crowned on Sunday. The winner advances to a Super Regional next weekend vs. the winner of the Tallahassee Regional.
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All the action will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks with Friday's opener available to stream via ESPN3.
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW completed a dramatic run to the A-10 Championship title on Saturday, beating Dayton twice to claim the trophy and punch their ticket to the national tournament.
The Buff and Blue won the first game, 3-2, in nine innings on Alexa Williams' walk-off RBI single, and then they carried over the momentum into a 7-2 victory to finish their title run.
Sierra Lange was named the A-10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player after pitching all nine innings in Saturday's first game and the first five in game two. On the weekend, the redshirt junior from Plano, Texas, started all five games and recorded a 4-1 record with a 1.27 ERA and 29 strikeouts across 33 innings while also hitting .389 with six RBIs.
GW bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Dayton to open the tournament with four straight wins, eliminating Saint Joseph's, Fordham and finally the Flyers along the way. It was a long-awaited celebration for a veteran group, many of whom had experienced the disappointment of having the winner-take-all final rained out at the 2019 A-10 Championship and settling for a share of the title.
This time, the Buff and Blue found a way, led by Lange's all-around excellence. Jenna Cone, Alessandra Ponce, Sidney Bloomfield and Amber Lotz were named to the All-Championship Team for their play throughout the weekend at SJU Softball Field.
GOOD GLOVES:Â GW committed three errors in its loss at the A-10 Championship and then played error-free defense the rest of the way.
This spring, the Buff and Blue have committed just 25 errors across 46 games, good for a .978 fielding percentage that ranks 10th nationally.
GW's middle infielders are deserving of a special shoutout: Lotz has played error-free at second base with 73 putouts and 47 assists, while shortstop Hannah Eslick has handled 133 chances with just two errors.
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The excellent defense has been a boon for GW's pitchers, who have ceded just 15 unearned runs this season.
IN FULL BLOOM:Â Sidney Bloomfield has continued to provide a spark out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup. The senior outfielder hit a team-high .571 (8-for-14) at the A-10 Championship to raise her season batting average to .450. She scored four runs and knocked in one across the five games.
For the season, Bloomfield has 15 multi-hit games in her 35 starts, including five three-hit efforts. She has been excellent since returning from an injury that kept her out of 11 games in the middle of the season, hitting .487 (19-for-39) in the 13 games since then.
For her career, Bloomfield owns a .375 career batting average with 160 hits in 162 collegiate games.
QUITE THE CAREER: Last week, Cone was named A-10 Player of the Year for the second time, becoming the first student-athlete to claim the award twice since Kellie Cookus of Rhode Island ('97, '98) and just the third repeat winner in conference history.
After knocking in six runs at the A-10 Championship, Cone now has 254 RBIs for her career. She's driven in the most runs of any active student-athlete in the nation with a total that puts her in a tie for 16th on the all-time NCAA list.
Cone also ranks third among active student-athletes in homers with 73. That's an A-10 record, and she has secured a spot in the national record book there, as well.
Beyond that, Cone is also the program's all-time leader in runs scored (195), hits (276), total bases (555), walks (122), HBP (35), on-base percentage (.492), slugging percentage (.785) and games played (237).
BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER:Â Lange was tabbed A-10 Pitcher of the Year last week, becoming the first student-athlete in program history to win the award. The versatile standout has been terrific in all facets of the game this spring in her return to the lineup after missing the abbreviated 2020 season due to injury.
Lange leads the A-10 in wins (21) and strikeouts (199), and her 1.72 ERA in 174 2/3 innings is a career best. This spring, she has become the program's all-time leader in wins (67) and strikeouts (560), and she also made a bit of history at SJU Softball Field on April 17 when she tossed a five-inning no-hitter vs. the Hawks, the fifth in program history and first since 2018.
Offensively, Lange has continued to do her part in the No. 3 hole behind Jessica Linquist and Cone. She's hitting .408 on the season with a team-high 62 hits, including a career-high seven homers, while also ranking among the top five in the conference in runs scored (44), triples (four) and steals (14).
SCOUTING THE FIELD:Â Ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, Louisiana (44-10) earned the automatic bid out of the Sun Belt after a 4-0 showing at the conference tournament.Â
The Ragin' Cajuns swept the top Sun Belt end-of-season awards with Ciara Bryan and Summer Elyson honored as Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
LSU (32-19) is hosting a regional for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament after tackling one of the nation's most difficult schedules this spring. Taylor Pleasants (IF) and Aliyah Andrews (OF) were both named to the All-SEC First Team.
McNeese State (34-24) is the Southland Conference champion after winning four straight games as the No. 3 seed. The Cowgirls secured the title with a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas thanks to a combined shutout from Jenna Edwards and Whitney Tate. Â
GW faced LSU twice at Tiger Park during the 2014 season, while the program has never matched up vs. Louisiana nor McNeese State.
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The third-seeded Buff and Blue open play on Friday in a 6:30 p.m. start vs. No. 2 Louisiana at LSU's Tiger Park in Baton Rouge, La. The host Tigers will face No. 4 McNeese State in the first game of the day.
Â
All four teams will play again Saturday as part of the double-elimination format before a champion is crowned on Sunday. The winner advances to a Super Regional next weekend vs. the winner of the Tallahassee Regional.
Â
All the action will be broadcast on the ESPN family of networks with Friday's opener available to stream via ESPN3.
ÂTravel Day✅#RaiseHigh | #RoadToWCWS pic.twitter.com/nZzKnBBYWL
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) May 20, 2021
LAST TIME OUT:Â GW completed a dramatic run to the A-10 Championship title on Saturday, beating Dayton twice to claim the trophy and punch their ticket to the national tournament.
The Buff and Blue won the first game, 3-2, in nine innings on Alexa Williams' walk-off RBI single, and then they carried over the momentum into a 7-2 victory to finish their title run.
Sierra Lange was named the A-10 Championship's Most Outstanding Player after pitching all nine innings in Saturday's first game and the first five in game two. On the weekend, the redshirt junior from Plano, Texas, started all five games and recorded a 4-1 record with a 1.27 ERA and 29 strikeouts across 33 innings while also hitting .389 with six RBIs.
GW bounced back from a 2-0 loss to Dayton to open the tournament with four straight wins, eliminating Saint Joseph's, Fordham and finally the Flyers along the way. It was a long-awaited celebration for a veteran group, many of whom had experienced the disappointment of having the winner-take-all final rained out at the 2019 A-10 Championship and settling for a share of the title.
This time, the Buff and Blue found a way, led by Lange's all-around excellence. Jenna Cone, Alessandra Ponce, Sidney Bloomfield and Amber Lotz were named to the All-Championship Team for their play throughout the weekend at SJU Softball Field.
GOOD GLOVES:Â GW committed three errors in its loss at the A-10 Championship and then played error-free defense the rest of the way.
This spring, the Buff and Blue have committed just 25 errors across 46 games, good for a .978 fielding percentage that ranks 10th nationally.
GW's middle infielders are deserving of a special shoutout: Lotz has played error-free at second base with 73 putouts and 47 assists, while shortstop Hannah Eslick has handled 133 chances with just two errors.
Â
The excellent defense has been a boon for GW's pitchers, who have ceded just 15 unearned runs this season.
IN FULL BLOOM:Â Sidney Bloomfield has continued to provide a spark out of the No. 9 spot in the lineup. The senior outfielder hit a team-high .571 (8-for-14) at the A-10 Championship to raise her season batting average to .450. She scored four runs and knocked in one across the five games.
For the season, Bloomfield has 15 multi-hit games in her 35 starts, including five three-hit efforts. She has been excellent since returning from an injury that kept her out of 11 games in the middle of the season, hitting .487 (19-for-39) in the 13 games since then.
For her career, Bloomfield owns a .375 career batting average with 160 hits in 162 collegiate games.
QUITE THE CAREER: Last week, Cone was named A-10 Player of the Year for the second time, becoming the first student-athlete to claim the award twice since Kellie Cookus of Rhode Island ('97, '98) and just the third repeat winner in conference history.
After knocking in six runs at the A-10 Championship, Cone now has 254 RBIs for her career. She's driven in the most runs of any active student-athlete in the nation with a total that puts her in a tie for 16th on the all-time NCAA list.
Cone also ranks third among active student-athletes in homers with 73. That's an A-10 record, and she has secured a spot in the national record book there, as well.
Beyond that, Cone is also the program's all-time leader in runs scored (195), hits (276), total bases (555), walks (122), HBP (35), on-base percentage (.492), slugging percentage (.785) and games played (237).
BACK AND BETTER THAN EVER:Â Lange was tabbed A-10 Pitcher of the Year last week, becoming the first student-athlete in program history to win the award. The versatile standout has been terrific in all facets of the game this spring in her return to the lineup after missing the abbreviated 2020 season due to injury.
Lange leads the A-10 in wins (21) and strikeouts (199), and her 1.72 ERA in 174 2/3 innings is a career best. This spring, she has become the program's all-time leader in wins (67) and strikeouts (560), and she also made a bit of history at SJU Softball Field on April 17 when she tossed a five-inning no-hitter vs. the Hawks, the fifth in program history and first since 2018.
Offensively, Lange has continued to do her part in the No. 3 hole behind Jessica Linquist and Cone. She's hitting .408 on the season with a team-high 62 hits, including a career-high seven homers, while also ranking among the top five in the conference in runs scored (44), triples (four) and steals (14).
SCOUTING THE FIELD:Â Ranked No. 15 nationally in the latest NFCA/USA Today Coaches Poll, Louisiana (44-10) earned the automatic bid out of the Sun Belt after a 4-0 showing at the conference tournament.Â
The Ragin' Cajuns swept the top Sun Belt end-of-season awards with Ciara Bryan and Summer Elyson honored as Player of the Year and Pitcher of the Year, respectively.
LSU (32-19) is hosting a regional for the sixth straight NCAA Tournament after tackling one of the nation's most difficult schedules this spring. Taylor Pleasants (IF) and Aliyah Andrews (OF) were both named to the All-SEC First Team.
McNeese State (34-24) is the Southland Conference champion after winning four straight games as the No. 3 seed. The Cowgirls secured the title with a 1-0 win over Central Arkansas thanks to a combined shutout from Jenna Edwards and Whitney Tate. Â
GW faced LSU twice at Tiger Park during the 2014 season, while the program has never matched up vs. Louisiana nor McNeese State.
Players Mentioned
OF
/ Softball
IF
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IF
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UT
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UT
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IF
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