George Washington University Athletics
George Washington University
Towson
Softball Looks to Stay Hot at Home vs. Towson Tuesday, Hofstra Wednesday
3/18/2024 1:42:00 PM | Softball
WASHINGTON - Having won six of its last seven games at home, the George Washington softball team returns to the GW Softball Field for a pair of midweek games, hosting Towson on Tuesday and Hofstra on Wednesday. Both games have scheduled 2:00 p.m. first pitches and will be carried live on ESPN+.
A-10 SERIES WINÂ
The Buff & Blue won two of three games vs. Loyola Chicago in the first A-10 series of the season. GW lost game one, 10-0, but had the Ramblers' number the rest of the way. GW won game two 6-5, clinching the win on a Rose Cano walk-off double, before securing the series on Sunday in a 7-5 win.
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS
TOWSON
The Tigers have opened the season at 11-14 overall and 3-3 in the CAA. Towson played Hofstra in its CAA opening series at home, losing two of three games to the Pride.Â
Cori Jones and Cara Bohner pace the Tigers' offense, both with OPS over 1.000. Jones has a .410 AVG with six doubles, two home runs and 11 RBI, while Bohner has a .338 AVG with seven doubles, three home runs and 15 RBI. Amanda Medina has a team-best 1.77 ERA and 1.43 WHIP (among qualified pitchers), but has seen less action than Maddie Gardner (3.22 ERA/1.47 WHIP) and Erin Brown (3.34 ERA/1.57 WHIP), who have started a combined 18 of Towson's 25 games.
GW trails the all-time series vs. the Tigers 11-4, but the programs have not met since April 2021. GW's last win in the series came on March 13, 2019 in a 10-3 game at Towson.Â
HOFSTRA
The Pride are 6-12 overall but 4-2 in the CAA, with series wins over Towson and Drexel. Hofstra challenged three "Power Five" opponents in its non-conference schedule but fell in each game, twice to No. 2 Texas, and once each to RV Penn State and Boston College.
Becca Vaillancourt has brought Hofstra's most impactful bat, accounting for three of the team's four home runs and team-highs with 11 RBI and a .519 SLG. Hofstra is aggressive with certain runners on the base paths - Chelsea Manto has 11 stolen bases in 15 tries, while Lily Yepez has six stolen bases in as many tries. Julia Apsel is Hofstra's ace, sporting a 1.46 ERA in 52.2 innings of work with a 3.4/1 strikeout-to-walk ratio.
Hofstra will make a stop in Baltimore to play UMBC on Tuesday before arriving on The Vern for Wednesday's matchup. Wednesday will be the first-ever meeting between GW and Hofstra. Â Â
