George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Bucknell
Softball Set for Start of 2024 Season
2/8/2024 9:30:00 AM | Softball
New-look Revolutionaries to play five games on opening weekend at Kickin’ Chicken Classic
WASHINGTON - The George Washington University softball team opens up its 54-game regular season this weekend in Conway, S.C., with a five-game stay at the Kickin' Chicken Classic. The team makes its Revolutionaries' debut on Friday with Opening Day matchups against Bucknell (10:00 a.m.) and Campbell (3:00 p.m.). Then a date with the host Chanticleers of Coastal Carolina follows on Saturday (3:30 p.m.) before a rematch with Bucknell (9:00 a.m.) and the first "Power Five" test of the year in Syracuse (11:15 a.m.) awaits on Sunday. Saturday's game against Coastal Carolina will be carried live on ESPN+.Â
Led by Head Coach Chrissy Schoonmaker in her third season, the Buff & Blue have added eight players to the roster in 2024 (seven first-years & one transfer) and returns key pieces from all over the diamond, including multiple A-10 All-Rookie selections, A-10 All-Conference selections and an A-10 Player of the Year.
Back after her standout rookie season, which culminated in selections to the A-10 All-Rookie Team and NFCA All-Region Second Team as a pitcher/utility, is sophomore pitcher/utility Rose Cano. Cano was dynamic in 2023; she led all GW returners in batting average (.287) and ERA (2.81) last season, and was among the A-10's top pitchers, finishing third in the conference in wins (14) and eighth in ERA.
Also returning from the 2023 A-10 All-Rookie Team is sophomore outfielder Ashley Corpuz, who started all 45 games in her first year and led the Buff & Blue in RBI (26), doubles (13) and SLG (.463). Corpuz kept pace with some of the best rookies in GW history last season, finishing tied for second on the GW all-time rookie doubles list (13) and third on the rookie walks list (24).
Leading the veterans and putting her stamp on a fifth season of GW softball is infielder Maggie Greco, who finished 2023 with a team-high OPS (.844) and second in total assists (96). Greco, who was selected to the A-10 All-Conference Second Team at third base in 2023, has a career .275 AVG and is a lockdown defender with a .964 career fielding percentage in over 150 games played.Â
Joining Greco on the roster as a graduate student is transfer Allison Heffley, who comes to GW from Harvard with 98 games under her belt as a catcher/utility. Heffley was selected to the NFCA All-Region First Team as a catcher and to the Ivy League Honorable Mention Team in 2023, and comes to GW with a career .325 AVG, .913 OPS, 50 RBI and a .997 fielding percentage. Heffley has two years of eligibility remaining.
Heffley and GW's catchers will team up with a list of pitchers that has doubled for 2024. Headlined by sophomore returners Cano, Emma Fales and Lily Hanafin, the six-pitcher staff now includes the additions of first-year pitcher Sophia Torreso and first-year pitcher/utilities Natalie Cox and Cece Smith.Â
Cox, Smith and Torreso are joined by infielders Mandy Lauth and Cadence Gilliland, outfielder Paige Hayward and utility Rylee Brice as GW's seven first-year players looking to make an impact in their rookie seasons.
GW's 2024 senior class is led by the 2022 A-10 Player of the Year Alexa Williams. Williams had 55 RBI and 12 HR while sporting a .366 AVG and 1.087 OPS on her way to earning the league's most valuable player in 2022. Williams was selected to the NFCA All Mid-Atlantic Region Second Team in 2022, and was selected to both the NFCA Mid-Atlantic Region Third Team and the A-10 All-Rookie Team in 2021. Williams will look to reestablish herself as one of the A-10's premier players in 2024 after missing the 2023 season.
Joining Williams in the senior class is infielder Alena Ramirez, catcher/utility Abby Schaub, utility Sidney Torres and outfielder Taylin Yankovich. Â
Both Schaub and Ramirez are coming off career offensive years in 2023 - a season which both set career-high marks in hits, RBIs, doubles and walks (Schaub: 25 H, 21 RBI, 6 2B, 11 BB; Ramirez: 18 H, 11 RBI, 5 2B, 11 BB).
S. Torres played in a career-high 35 games in 2023, often showcasing her defensive abilities in the flex (43 career putouts & .978 career fielding percentage). She seized her offensive opportunities with her first two career home runs, six RBI and six runs scored in 42 at-bats. Yankovich was perfect defensively in 2023, converting all seven of her putout chances.
Taylor Puig and Gabby Polsky are the lone juniors for 2024. Polsky started 16 games in 2023, matching her career average (.250) in 48 at-bats, while Puig reached base three times in 11 plate appearances last season.
Rounding out the roster in 2024 is sophomore infielder Daniella Lew and sophomore catcher/utility Reese Torres, both coming off impactful rookie seasons. Lew started 42 of 45 games in 2023 and had 22 hits, seven RBI and 14 runs scored, while adding 18 assists defensively. R. Torres started all 45 games in 2023 and showed off her offensive abilities, leading the team in runs scored (27, sixth-most ever in a single season at GW) and in home runs (6, tied for the fourth-most ever by a GW rookie).
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
BUCKNELL
Bucknell is coming off a season in which they finished 16-30 with an 8-10 mark in the Patriot League. The Bison were picked fourth in the 2024 Patriot League preseason poll, which included a preseason All-Patriot League Team selection for senior catcher/utility Zoie Smith.
The Opening Day matchup against the Bison will mark the second-straight year that GW and Bucknell meet in the inaugural game. Last season, trailing by one run and down to its final three outs, GW found clutch hitting from then-junior S. Torres, who tied the game with her first career home run, and Mia Parker, who drove in the eventual game-winner to seal the Opening Day win for GW.
The all-time series between GW and Bucknell is tied 5-5.
CAMPBELL
Campbell was 42-18 last season, which included a 15-5 mark in conference, the team's third-straight Big South Tournament Championship and a trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Camels' NCAA Tournament run didn't last long - they were eliminated from the Durham Regional after beating George Mason, but losing twice to Charlotte.Â
Campbell is getting set for its inaugural season in the Colonial Athletic Association (CAA) after the school joined the conference in the fall of 2023.
GW's only meeting against the Camels came in 2013 and resulted in a Campbell victory.
COASTAL CAROLINA
Coastal Carolina finished the 2023 season with a 36-20 record, but just 11-13 in the Sun Belt. The Chanticleers 2023 season came to an end in the second round of the Sun Belt Tournament, where they fell, 2-1, to Marshall.
Coastal Carolina had two players selected to the 2024 Sun Belt All-Conference preseason team: sophomore third baseman Delaney Keith, and graduate pitcher Iyanla De Jesus. Coastal Carolina was picked sixth in the 2023 Sun Belt preseason coaches' poll.
GW will go head-to-head with Coastal Carolina for just the second time in program history. The first meeting, also at the Kickin' Chicken Classic, ended in an extra-innings win for the home side back in 2012.Â
SYRACUSE
Syracuse was 24-26-1 a season ago, including a 7-15-1 mark in ACC play. The Orange's season came to an end last year in the second round of the ACC Tournament, suffering a 4-1 loss to No. 3 Florida State.
Syracuse was picked 10th of 14 teams in the 2024 ACC coaches' poll, and did not have any players selected to the preseason All-ACC Team. Â
Sunday's weekend finale will be the first-ever meeting between GW and Syracuse.Â
