Softball Sweeps Augustana and Concordia at St. Louis Invitational
BOX 1 | BOX 2 | PHOTO GALLERY
St. Louis, Mo., March 25, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team concluded play in the St. Louis Invitational with a pair of victories on Sunday over Augustana College (Illinois) and Concordia University (Illinois).
Senior Olivia Cook tossed a two-hit complete-game shutout in a 4-0 win over Augustana in the opener, and then sophomore Kelsey Neal picked up the win on the mound and had the game-winning hit in a 6-5 victory over Concordia in the nightcap.
Washington U. 4, Augustana 0
Cook retired the first nine batters of the game and had a no-hitter until a base hit by Laura Behnke with two outs in the top of the sixth inning. Washington U. scored all four of its runs in the third inning on six hits.
Sophomore Stacy Berg doubled with one out, which started a string of five-straight hits by the Bears. Junior Ashley Janssen followed with an infield single moving Berg to third, and then an infield single by senior Alyssa Abramoski pushed Berg across the plate. An RBI single by senior Corissa Santos made it 2-0, and then Abramoski came around to score on a throwing error. Freshman Adrienne White wrapped up the scoring with a sacrifice fly driving in Santos to make it 4-0.
Cook (5-3) allowed two hits and walked one in seven inning pitched. Eight of the nine starters recorded a hit in the game one victory, and the Bears did not commit an error for the third-straight game.
“The inside drop was working all day for me and it was helpful that I had seen them the day before,” said Cook. “I did not start thinking about the no-hitter until the sixth inning. When I gave up the hit, I quit thinking about it.”
Washington U. 6, Concordia 5
The Bears had 13 hits in the come-from-behind victory in the final game of the St. Louis Invitational. Santos (3-for-4), Abramoski (2-for-4, run scored, RBI), Janssen (2-for-4, run scored) and White (2-for-2, run scored) each had a multi-hit game for Washington U.
An RBI double by Abramoski in the first and a solo homerun by Berg in the second gave the Bears an early 2-0 lead. Concordia (2-12) answered back with three runs in the second on four-straight hits off WU junior starting pitcher Kathy Peter, but an RBI sac fly by junior Sondra Polonsky tied the game up at 3-3 after three innings of play.
The Cougars took a 4-3 lead in the fourth after scoring an unearned run, but Washington U. put three runs on the board in the fifth to take a 6-4 advantage. Polonsky had a RBI single and Neal added a two-RBI double with two outs.
Neal picked up her team-leading sixth win of the year (6-2) in 3 2/3 innings pitched in relief. She allowed three hits and one earned run while striking out three. Peter got the no decision allowing three earned runs and eight hits in 3 1/3 innings pitched.
Washington University (13-6) hosts a pair of doubleheaders next week against NAIA Harris-Stowe State University on Saturday, March 31, and Fontbonne University on Sunday, April 1. Both doubleheaders are set to begin at Noon.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. has recorded 10 games of double-digit hits this season … Abramoski and Santos have started 148-straight games … Santos has 10 multi-hit games, tops on the team … Sophomore Maggie Mullen’s season-long eight game hitting streak came to an end in game two … Washington U. and No. 8 ranked Central College each recorded a 3-1 tourney mark.