Softball Splits Pair of Games at Hy-Vee Classic
BOX 1 | BOX 2
Grinnell, Iowa, April 1, 2011 – The No. 24 ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team split a pair of games to Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) opponents on Friday afternoon at the Hy-Vee Classic held in Grinnell, Iowa.
The Bears had 19 hits in a 12-8 win over Simpson College in game one, and then committed three errors in a 3-2 loss to No. 9 ranked Central College in the nightcap.
Washington U. scored three runs in the top of the first inning against Simpson, highlighted by junior Alyssa Abramoski’s Division III leading sixth RBI triple of the year. Sophomore Alex Fjeldheim and freshman Maggie Mullen added RBI doubles for the Bears in the three-run first.
Simpson (14-8) scored a run in the bottom half of the first inning, but freshman Kelsey Neal’s two-run home run in the second pushed the advantage to 5-2. Neal replaced sophomore Ashley Janssen, who was injured on the opening play of the game after beating out an infield hit. Simpson stormed back with four runs in the bottom of the second off junior starting pitcher Olivia Cook to knot the score at 5-5.
A home run by Mullen and an RBI single by sophomore Kathy Peter gave Washington U. the lead for good in the third. The Bears tacked on three more runs in the sixth on an RBI single by junior Corissa Santos and a two-out, two-RBI single by senior Claire Voris. Fjeldheim drove in two more runs in the seventh with two outs to push the advantage to 12-5.
Fjeldheim was 3-for-5 with three RBIs, while Voris (3-5, two RBIs) and Abramoski (3-5, RBI, three runs scored) added three hits apiece. Mullen, Neal and Polonsky also had two hits in the win. Voris picked up the win in relief, allowing six hits and one earned run while striking out six.
A double steal in the second inning by Central College (15-2) resulted in an RBI groundout by Rachel Everingham for the first run of the game. Voris made the start in game two for the Bears, striking out four and allowing just one hit through the first three innings.
The Bears answered back with two runs in the bottom of the fourth. Voris singled to leadoff the inning, and then scored on an RBI double to right center by Mullen. Polonsky followed with an RBI single to right driving in Mullen to make it 2-1.
Caitlyn Meyer knotted the game up in the top of the fifth, as she drilled a 3-2 pitch from Voris over the left field fence. The game remained tied until the sixth, when Central took advantage of the third error of the day by the Bears to score the game-winning run.
After Bethany Koskamp singled to lead off the inning, she moved to third after a sacrifice by Angela Davis and a throwing error by Fjeldeim. Koskamp scored on a safety squeeze by Kiley Lythberg with one out to push the lead to 3-2.
The Bears had a base runner in both the sixth and seventh inning off Lythberg, but could not muster a run. Voris (7-3) took the loss on the mound allowing five hits and two earned runs. She also truck out six to increase her career total to 718.
Mullen was 2-for-3 with an RBI in the loss, while Polonsky was 2-for-2 with an RBI and a sacrifice. The Bears had six hits in the game two loss.
Washington University (17-6-1) completes its four-game trip to Iowa with a doubleheader on Saturday, April 2, against Grinnell College. Game one is set to begin at 10 a.m.
Bear Notebook: Head coach Leticia Pineda-Boutté is now one win shy of becoming Washington U.’s all-time wins leader and one victory short of 200 in her career … The home run for Mullen in game one was her fifth of the season, tying her for the team lead with Voris … Abramoski went 0-for-3 in game two to snap a 12-game hitting streak.