
Photo by: Rafael Suanes/A10 Conference
Softball Downs SLU at A-10 Championship
5/12/2022 3:15:00 PM | Softball
Buff & Blue scored twice in sixth to beat Billikens
FAIRFAX, Va. - GW softball started its run at the Atlantic 10 Championship on Thursday afternoon with a 4-2 win over Saint Louis at George Mason Softball Complex.
After the Billikens tied the game in the top of the sixth, the Buff and Blue answered right back in the bottom of the frame with RBI singles from Maddie Spell and Valentina Perrone on the way to victory. They advance to face the winner between No. 2 Fordham and No. 3 Saint Joseph's on Friday at noon with a spot in Saturday's final on the line.
The A-10 Championship's top seed after a 21-3 regular season, GW relied on a familiar formula in their tournament opener with strong pitching from Sierra Lange and timely offense from a variety of sources.
Lange went the distance in her 25th victory of the season, and the Buff and Blue were able to score all of their runs with two outs thanks to clutch hitting.
GW jumped on top with two outs in the third. Perrone worked a walk and then Lange and Alexa Williams followed with singles before Alessandra Ponce dropped a two-run single in front of the diving center fielder for a 2-0 lead.
The lead stayed there until Saint Louis scored twice in the top of the sixth on RBI hits from Sadie Wise and Allie Herron.
Lange was able to prevent further damage with a pair of Ks to end the inning, and the Buff and Blue moved quickly to retake the lead.
Mia Parker and Hannah Eslick singled to open the bottom of the sixth, setting up Spell, who ripped a 2-2 pitch into left to break the tie with two outs. Perrone followed with an infield single to make it 4-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, Lange allowed a leadoff double before retiring three straight Billikens to finish the victory.
The repeat A-10 Pitcher of the Year, Lange was excellent again, recording five of her nine strikeouts over the first two innings.Â
The veteran right-hander didn't cede a hit until the fifth and finished allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits over the seven innings. She got some help from a defensive gem to save a run in the fourth when center fielder Darbie Stancil made a diving catch on a pop up that had tipped off right fielder Maddy Dwyer's glove to end the inning.
At the bottom of the lineup, Perrone finished 1-for-1 with a walk, plus an RBI and a run scored.
Back in familiar territory and seeking a repeat A-10 Championship title, GW moves on to a semifinal matchup vs. either the Rams or Hawks. The winner of that one will be one win away from a title, while the loser will have to play an elimination game later in the day.
After the Billikens tied the game in the top of the sixth, the Buff and Blue answered right back in the bottom of the frame with RBI singles from Maddie Spell and Valentina Perrone on the way to victory. They advance to face the winner between No. 2 Fordham and No. 3 Saint Joseph's on Friday at noon with a spot in Saturday's final on the line.
The A-10 Championship's top seed after a 21-3 regular season, GW relied on a familiar formula in their tournament opener with strong pitching from Sierra Lange and timely offense from a variety of sources.
Lange went the distance in her 25th victory of the season, and the Buff and Blue were able to score all of their runs with two outs thanks to clutch hitting.
GW jumped on top with two outs in the third. Perrone worked a walk and then Lange and Alexa Williams followed with singles before Alessandra Ponce dropped a two-run single in front of the diving center fielder for a 2-0 lead.
The lead stayed there until Saint Louis scored twice in the top of the sixth on RBI hits from Sadie Wise and Allie Herron.
Lange was able to prevent further damage with a pair of Ks to end the inning, and the Buff and Blue moved quickly to retake the lead.
Mia Parker and Hannah Eslick singled to open the bottom of the sixth, setting up Spell, who ripped a 2-2 pitch into left to break the tie with two outs. Perrone followed with an infield single to make it 4-2.
In the bottom of the seventh, Lange allowed a leadoff double before retiring three straight Billikens to finish the victory.
The repeat A-10 Pitcher of the Year, Lange was excellent again, recording five of her nine strikeouts over the first two innings.Â
The veteran right-hander didn't cede a hit until the fifth and finished allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits over the seven innings. She got some help from a defensive gem to save a run in the fourth when center fielder Darbie Stancil made a diving catch on a pop up that had tipped off right fielder Maddy Dwyer's glove to end the inning.
Offensively, GW's nine hits came from eight different student-athletes. Eslick had a pair of singles, Ponce drove in two and Lange extended her career-long hitting streak to 13 games and scored a run.Just how we drew it up! 😉
— GW Softball (@GW_Softball) May 12, 2022
What a catch by @darbiestancil11 off the deflection to end the fourth and keep the lead at 2-0! (CC: @NCAASoftball)#RaiseHigh | #Together pic.twitter.com/QOXCMWFdD5
At the bottom of the lineup, Perrone finished 1-for-1 with a walk, plus an RBI and a run scored.
Back in familiar territory and seeking a repeat A-10 Championship title, GW moves on to a semifinal matchup vs. either the Rams or Hawks. The winner of that one will be one win away from a title, while the loser will have to play an elimination game later in the day.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: Lange, Sierra (25-7)
L: WENDLING, Chloe (15-16)
Batting:
2B: WISE, Sadie 1 ; JOHNSON, Kendall 1
RBI: WISE, Sadie 1 ; HERRON, Allie 1
Base Running:
RUNS: KOWALIK, Gabbie 1 ; WISE, Sadie 1
SB: KOWALIK, Gabbie 1
HBP: SULLIVAN, Natalie 1

Batting:
RBI: Ponce, Alessandra 2 ; Spell, Maddie 1 ; Perrone, Valentina 1
SH: Greco, Maggie 2
Base Running:
RUNS: Lange, Sierra 1 ; Eslick, Hannah 1 ; Perrone, Valentina 1 ; Stancil, Darbie 1
HBP: Lange, Sierra 1
Game Leaders
Players Mentioned
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