Bears Improve to 14-5-1 With Victories Over Augustana and No. 19 Coe on Sunday

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St. Louis, Mo., March 20, 2011 – Freshman Kelsey Neal’s walk-off two-run home run led the Washington University in St. Louis softball team to a 5-4 come-from-behind victory over No. 19 Coe College on Sunday afternoon at the 2011 Washington University Tournament in St. Louis, Mo. The Bears also posted an 8-2 win over Augustana College in the first game of the day.

Neal sent a pitch from Coe’s Ashlee Simon over the centerfield fence with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, as Washington U. picked up its first win this season over a ranked opponent. The Bears are now 1-3-1 against ranked opponents.

"I was looking for a pitch down in the zone after seeing rise balls all day," said Neal. "It felt good when it came off the bat and I was hoping it would get over the fence. It was pretty exciting, as it was the first home run of my career."

Voris sat down Coe 1-2-3 in the sixth, but got in the some trouble in the top of the seventh. Abby Flannagan homered to lead off the inning, and then Shannon Aquero followed with a double off the left field fence. CC Williams singled to make it first and second, and then pinch-hitter Emily Panyard sent a pitch from Voris over the left field fence to make it 4-3.

Simon got the leadoff hitter in the seventh for the first out, followed by a double by senior Ally Berenter down the left field line. That set up the fireworks for Neal, who completed the sweep on Sunday with a home run.

Voris (5-2) picked up the win despite giving up six hits and four earned runs. She also struck out 13 and walked one in the victory. Simon gave up five hits and five earned runs in the loss, while striking out 11.

Abramoski went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and a home run in the game one win over Augustana. Sophomores Ashley Janssen and Sondra Polonsky and Voris added two hits apiece for Washington U., which had 11 hits and walked seven times in the victory. Junior Olivia Cook (5-2) picked up the complete-game victory on the mound, allowing eight hits and one earned run.

Trailing 1-0 in the third, Washington U. knotted the contest following an RBI walk by Berenter in the bottom half of the inning. The Bears added four runs in the fourth to go up 5-1. Abramoski led of the inning with a home run, her team-leading fourth of the season, and added two more runs on an RBI single by Polonsky and a RBI walk by junior Rebecca Salisbury.

The Bears tacked on three more runs in the sixth inning on four hits, and taking advantage of an error by Augie. Salisbury drove in the first run of the inning on an RBI groundout, and then Janssen and Abramoski added RBIs on back-to-back plays to push the lead to 8-2.

Abramoski finished the day 3-for-7 with five RBIs, and is now batting .466 with a team-leading six doubles, five triples, four home runs and 22 RBIs. She also is riding a nine-game hitting streak where she is batting .583 (14-24) with 13 RBIs.

Washington University (14-5-1) continues its 12-game homestand with a doubleheader against Blackburn College on Wednesday, March 23. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. at the WU Softball Field.