Friday, May 21
Baton Rouge, LA
6:30 PM
George Washington University
37-10
0
vs
1
Louisiana
45-10
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
R
H
E
George Washington
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
2
2
UL-Lafayette
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
1
1
8
0
Softball Edged in Epic NCAA Debut
5/21/2021 10:38:00 PM | Softball
Buff & Blue battled Louisiana into 11 innings
BATON ROUGE, La. - Making its NCAA debut, GW softball battled Louisiana in an epic pitchers' duel at the Baton Rouge Regional on Friday evening before falling 1-0 in 11 innings.
A-10 Pitcher of the Year Sierra Lange matched Louisiana hurlers Kandra Lamb and Summer Ellyson zero for zero before the Ragin' Cajuns finally pushed across an unearned run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th.
The third-seeded Buff and Blue will now face fourth-seeded McNeese State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET in an elimination game at Tiger Park. The winner of that one will advance to play either host LSU or Louisiana immediately following for a spot in Sunday's final.
"Really proud of our group," GW Head Coach Shane Winkler said. "They fought all game long. Obviously, Louisiana knew they had a fight on their hands.
"That's all you can ask for is a game like that, an opportunity to compete on this level. I think we opened up some eyes."
Lange was simply masterful in her first taste of the national stage, allowing a single unearned run on eight hits over a career-high 10 2/3 innings. The redshirt junior from Plano, Texas, effectively pitched to contact, relying on a sterling defensive effort behind her to rack up outs, including three double plays.
The Buff and Blue's web gems came fast and furious, none more critical than the double play started by Amber Lotz to finish the ninth when she snared a hard liner with the bases loaded and threw to first to complete the twin-killing.
From shortstop, Hannah Eslick started a pair of 6-3 double plays, one on a grounder in the third and another on a pop up over her head in the eighth. Faith Weber and Olivia Vinyard each provided an impressive catch in the outfield to save extra bases.
Louisiana finally broke through against Lange in the 11th for the walk-off victory. The Sun Belt Conference champions started the rally with a single and an error before pinch hitter Karly Heath sent a shot to the left-field fence to end the game.
GW hung tough after being dealt an emotional blow right out of the gate when two-time A-10 Player of the Year Jenna Cone went down with an injury after lining out in the top of the first inning.Â
The Buff and Blue's nationally-ranked offense had trouble getting on track vs. Lamb, who retired the first 18 hitters that she faced before Jessica Linquist's lead-off single in the seventh.
Ellyson pitched the final five frames for the Ragin' Cajuns, allowing only an infield single from Sidney Bloomfield in the ninth.
It was an NCAA debut to remember thanks to fight that figures to serve the Buff and Blue well as the Regional continues on Saturday.
"We were all so loose and relaxed together," Lange told reporters afterward. "We knew we had each other's backs. I'm so unbelievably proud of our team, keeping our composure during tight situations.Â
"Not one second did I feel like we had pressure on us. I felt very relaxed, and I think the whole team felt that way, too."
A-10 Pitcher of the Year Sierra Lange matched Louisiana hurlers Kandra Lamb and Summer Ellyson zero for zero before the Ragin' Cajuns finally pushed across an unearned run with two outs in the bottom of the 11th.
The third-seeded Buff and Blue will now face fourth-seeded McNeese State on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. ET in an elimination game at Tiger Park. The winner of that one will advance to play either host LSU or Louisiana immediately following for a spot in Sunday's final.
"Really proud of our group," GW Head Coach Shane Winkler said. "They fought all game long. Obviously, Louisiana knew they had a fight on their hands.
"That's all you can ask for is a game like that, an opportunity to compete on this level. I think we opened up some eyes."
Lange was simply masterful in her first taste of the national stage, allowing a single unearned run on eight hits over a career-high 10 2/3 innings. The redshirt junior from Plano, Texas, effectively pitched to contact, relying on a sterling defensive effort behind her to rack up outs, including three double plays.
The Buff and Blue's web gems came fast and furious, none more critical than the double play started by Amber Lotz to finish the ninth when she snared a hard liner with the bases loaded and threw to first to complete the twin-killing.
From shortstop, Hannah Eslick started a pair of 6-3 double plays, one on a grounder in the third and another on a pop up over her head in the eighth. Faith Weber and Olivia Vinyard each provided an impressive catch in the outfield to save extra bases.
Louisiana finally broke through against Lange in the 11th for the walk-off victory. The Sun Belt Conference champions started the rally with a single and an error before pinch hitter Karly Heath sent a shot to the left-field fence to end the game.
GW hung tough after being dealt an emotional blow right out of the gate when two-time A-10 Player of the Year Jenna Cone went down with an injury after lining out in the top of the first inning.Â
The Buff and Blue's nationally-ranked offense had trouble getting on track vs. Lamb, who retired the first 18 hitters that she faced before Jessica Linquist's lead-off single in the seventh.
Ellyson pitched the final five frames for the Ragin' Cajuns, allowing only an infield single from Sidney Bloomfield in the ninth.
It was an NCAA debut to remember thanks to fight that figures to serve the Buff and Blue well as the Regional continues on Saturday.
"We were all so loose and relaxed together," Lange told reporters afterward. "We knew we had each other's backs. I'm so unbelievably proud of our team, keeping our composure during tight situations.Â
"Not one second did I feel like we had pressure on us. I felt very relaxed, and I think the whole team felt that way, too."
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Ellyson (24-6)
L: Lange, Sierra (21-9)
Batting:
2B: Heath 1
RBI: Heath 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Piskos 1
SB: Bryan 1 ; Kean 1
CS: Talley 1
HBP: Curry 1
Game Leaders
Hitting
AB
4
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
3
R
0
H
1
RBI
0
AB
0
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
AB
1
R
0
H
0
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
OF
/ SoftballIF
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
OF
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballSoftball Gratitude Video
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