Monday, May 23
Fort Collins, CO
1 PM ET
George Washington University
36-17
3
vs
5
Bowling Green
34-20
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
R
H
E
George Washington
0
1
0
0
1
0
1
3
8
0
Bowling Green
1
0
1
0
1
2
X
5
7
2
Photo by: Jayson Ortiz
Softball Wraps Season at NISC
5/23/2022 4:00:00 PM | Softball
Buff & Blue closed spring at 36-17 overall
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - GW softball closed out a memorable spring season on Monday afternoon with a 5-3 setback vs. Bowling Green at the National Invitational Softball Championship.
After the Buff and Blue tied it at 2-2 on Taylor Puig's bases-loaded walk in the top of the fifth, the Falcons hit back with a pair of home runs and ultimately closed out the victory at TC Colorado Field to extend their run at the NIT of Softball.
The defeat marked the end for a decorated GW group that earned the program's second straight Atlantic 10 regular season title and third straight postseason appearance. The Buff and Blue, under A-10 Coach of the Year Chrissy Schoonmaker, finished the campaign at 36-17 overall.
In Monday's finale, GW was edged by the MAC runner-up Falcons in a back-and-forth contest.
Down 2-1 in the fifth, the Buff and Blue put their first three hitters on to load the bases and managed to tie the game on Puig's one-out walk scoring Alexa Williams, but couldn't push across the go-ahead run.
Sarah Gonzalez led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to put Bowling Green back in front, and the Falcons added on in the sixth on a two-run shot from Maycee Godbolt to make it 5-2.
In the seventh, Mia Parker singled and Maggie Greco reached on an error to bring the potential tying run to the plate for GW with one out, but MAC Pitcher of the Year Payton Gottshall extinguished the rally by retiring the final two hitters to end the game.
Sierra Lange finished an indelible five-year run in Buff and Blue with one more historic moment. In the second inning, she drove in her team's first run with an RBI triple into the right-field corner. It was her 15th career three-bagger to tie GW Athletics Hall of Famer Elana Meyers Taylor atop the program's all-time list.
The two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Year, Lange also went the distance in the circle, finishing the season at 27-11 with a 2.40 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 230 2/3 innings of work. The graduate student from Plano, Texas, caps her collegiate career with 94 total victories and 785 Ks, both far and away program records. With a 2-for-4 day at the plate Monday, she finishes with 241 hits, good for second in program annals.
A four-time All-Conference honoree, Alessandra Ponce reached three times in her final collegiate game, including her 59th career double to add to her program record total, to finish the season with a team-high 61 hits and a .363 batting average.
Valentina Perrone provided a pair of hits vs. the Falcons, and Maddy Dwyer had a double and drove in the final run with a sac fly.
Led by Lange and the A-10 Player of the Year Williams, this group rebounded from a tough start vs. a difficult non-conference slate to win 27 of its final 30 regular season games.Â
The Buff and Blue went 21-3 in A-10 play to land comfortably atop the conference standings for the second consecutive season before falling one win short of a repeat title at the A-10 Championship. The opportunity to continue their season at the NISC allowed them to extend their run together and made them one of 76 teams across the country to taste postseason play.
GW will say goodbye to a transformative senior group, headlined by Lange, Ponce and All-Conference shortstop Hannah Eslick, but stands to return a strong core looking ahead to 2023, with Williams and All-Conference performer Maddie Spell among those leading the way.
After the Buff and Blue tied it at 2-2 on Taylor Puig's bases-loaded walk in the top of the fifth, the Falcons hit back with a pair of home runs and ultimately closed out the victory at TC Colorado Field to extend their run at the NIT of Softball.
The defeat marked the end for a decorated GW group that earned the program's second straight Atlantic 10 regular season title and third straight postseason appearance. The Buff and Blue, under A-10 Coach of the Year Chrissy Schoonmaker, finished the campaign at 36-17 overall.
In Monday's finale, GW was edged by the MAC runner-up Falcons in a back-and-forth contest.
Down 2-1 in the fifth, the Buff and Blue put their first three hitters on to load the bases and managed to tie the game on Puig's one-out walk scoring Alexa Williams, but couldn't push across the go-ahead run.
Sarah Gonzalez led off the bottom of the inning with a solo home run to put Bowling Green back in front, and the Falcons added on in the sixth on a two-run shot from Maycee Godbolt to make it 5-2.
In the seventh, Mia Parker singled and Maggie Greco reached on an error to bring the potential tying run to the plate for GW with one out, but MAC Pitcher of the Year Payton Gottshall extinguished the rally by retiring the final two hitters to end the game.
Sierra Lange finished an indelible five-year run in Buff and Blue with one more historic moment. In the second inning, she drove in her team's first run with an RBI triple into the right-field corner. It was her 15th career three-bagger to tie GW Athletics Hall of Famer Elana Meyers Taylor atop the program's all-time list.
The two-time A-10 Pitcher of the Year, Lange also went the distance in the circle, finishing the season at 27-11 with a 2.40 ERA and 223 strikeouts in 230 2/3 innings of work. The graduate student from Plano, Texas, caps her collegiate career with 94 total victories and 785 Ks, both far and away program records. With a 2-for-4 day at the plate Monday, she finishes with 241 hits, good for second in program annals.
A four-time All-Conference honoree, Alessandra Ponce reached three times in her final collegiate game, including her 59th career double to add to her program record total, to finish the season with a team-high 61 hits and a .363 batting average.
Valentina Perrone provided a pair of hits vs. the Falcons, and Maddy Dwyer had a double and drove in the final run with a sac fly.
Led by Lange and the A-10 Player of the Year Williams, this group rebounded from a tough start vs. a difficult non-conference slate to win 27 of its final 30 regular season games.Â
The Buff and Blue went 21-3 in A-10 play to land comfortably atop the conference standings for the second consecutive season before falling one win short of a repeat title at the A-10 Championship. The opportunity to continue their season at the NISC allowed them to extend their run together and made them one of 76 teams across the country to taste postseason play.
GW will say goodbye to a transformative senior group, headlined by Lange, Ponce and All-Conference shortstop Hannah Eslick, but stands to return a strong core looking ahead to 2023, with Williams and All-Conference performer Maddie Spell among those leading the way.
Team Stats
Pitching:
W: GOTTSHALL (27-13)
L: Lange, Sierra (27-11)
Batting:
2B: Ponce, Alessandra 1 ; Dwyer, Maddy 1
3B: Lange, Sierra 1
RBI: Lange, Sierra 1 ; Puig, Taylor 1 ; Dwyer, Maddy 1
SF: Dwyer, Maddy 1
Base Running:
RUNS: Williams, Alexa 1 ; Parker, Mia 1 ; Perrone, Valentina 1
HBP: Ponce, Alessandra 1
Batting:
2B: SAMPLE 2
HR: GODBOLT 1 ; GONZALEZ 1
RBI: SAMPLE 2 ; GODBOLT 2 ; GONZALEZ 1
Base Running:
RUNS: L'ESPERANCE 2 ; McNULTY 1 ; GODBOLT 1 ; GONZALEZ 1
SB: L'ESPERANCE 1
Game Leaders
AB
4
R
0
H
2
RBI
1
AB
3
R
0
H
2
RBI
0
AB
3
R
1
H
2
RBI
0
AB
4
R
1
H
1
RBI
0
Players Mentioned
P
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballUT
/ SoftballUT
/ SoftballC
/ SoftballUT
/ Softball
IF
/ Softball
UT
/ Softball
UT
/ SoftballSoftball Gratitude Video
Monday, November 28
NFCA All-American Sierra Lange
Wednesday, June 22
Elana Meyers Taylor Heads to Fourth Olympics
Friday, February 11
Elana Meyers Taylor Heads to Fourth Olympic Games
Friday, February 11