Washington U. Softball Moves to 8-0 With Pair of Wins in Arkansas
AUSTIN BOX | HENDRIX BOX
Conway, Ark., March 3, 2013 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team continued its early season success by posting a pair of victories Sunday at the Warrior Spring Fling in Conway, Ark., to remain undefeated.
The Bears opened the day with a 4-1 win over Austin College, and scored three runs in the first inning en route to a 7-0 win over host Hendrix College in game two.
Washington U. had 10 hits in each game, and has now recorded double-digit hits in seven-straight games. The Bears are 8-0 for the first time since 2006 and the fourth time in school history. The game two victory for head coach Leticia Pineda-Boutté was the 250th of her career in her nine seasons as a collegiate head coach (eight-Washington U.; one-Colorado-Colorado Springs).
Junior Maggie Mullen was 4-for-6 with a double, home run and two RBIs in the two-game sweep. For the week Mullen hit .500 (8-16) with two home runs and four RBIs, and is now tied with Washington University career batting average leader Liz Swary (.413, 2002-05). She also moved into fifth place on the all-time Washington U. home run list (17) and 10th in RBIs (83).
Washington U. 4, Austin 1
Junior Kelsey Neal (3-0) tossed a complete-game in the opener against Austin allowing seven hits and one earned run. She also struck out seven and walked one. Mullen went 3-for-4 with a home run and two RBIs in the win. This marked the second-straight day Mullen had three hits against the Kangaroos.
Washington U. broke a scoreless tie with a pair of runs on three hits in the fourth. Mullen homered to lead off the inning, and junior Stacy Berg followed with a single to right field. Berg was pinch-ran for by freshman Laura Worthen, a move that would pay off. Worthen moved to second on a sacrifice bunt and to third on an infield single, then stole home to make it 2-0.
Berg got things going in the sixth with a leadoff walk, and moved to second on a single to right by freshman Brooke Hofer. Berg came around to score after a throwing error on the shortstop to make it 3-0. Austin added a run in the bottom of the sixth, but Mullen got the run back in the Bears’ next at-bat with a double to left scoring senior Sondra Polonsky.
Washington U. 7, Hendrix 0
Hofer and freshman Annie Pitkin tossed the Bears’ first shutout of the year in the game two victory over Hendrix. Hofer (2-0) picked up the win allowing four hits in four innings pitched, while Pitkin picked up her first career save allowing three hits in three innings pitched.
Berg had the big hit for the Bears in game two against Hendrix in the top of the first inning. With the bases loaded and two outs, Berg drove in three runs with a single to right to make it 3-0. Washington U. added two more runs in its second at-bat following an RBI groundout by sophomore Adrienne White.
White drove in two more runs in the top of the sixth to make it 7-0 after sophomore Sydney Caldwell and senior Hilary Stepansky singled with one out. White was 2-for-4 with three RBIs, while Caldwell and Stepansky both went 2-for-3 with two runs scored.
Washington University embarks on an 11-day road trip for Spring Break with six games at the National Fastpitch Coaches Association (NFCA) Leadoff Classic in Columbus, Ga. The Bears take on No. 4 ranked University of Texas-Tyler (8-0) Friday, March 8, at 12:30 p.m. (ET) in game one.