No. 24 Washington U. Softball Splits Doubleheader at Blackburn
GAME 1 | GAME 2 | UPDATED STATS
Carlinville, Ill., April 22, 2012 – The No. 24 ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team continued its quest for an NCAA Regional bid with a doubleheader split at Blackburn College on Sunday afternoon in Carlinville, Ill.
The Bears pounded out 11 hits and senior Olivia Cook tossed a four-hitter in a 9-1 victory in game one. In the second game, Washington U. was limited to one run on six hits in a 5-1 defeat.
#24 Washington U. 9, Blackburn 1 – Game One
Randi Martin got Blackburn on the scoreboard in its first at-bat in game one with a solo home run off Cook. The home run for Martin was her third of the season. That would be all the Beavers would capitalize on as Cook limited Blackburn to three hits the rest of the way.
Washington U. scored three runs in the top of the second inning to jump out in front 3-1. Junior Sondra Polonsky drove in the first run of the inning with a sacrifice bunt after sophomore Maggie Mullen singled and then advanced to third on an error by the second baseman. Freshman Adrienne White singled through the left side to drive in another run, and then a sacrifice fly to right by freshman Alyssa Wilson gave Washington U. the two-run lead.
The Bears put three more runs on the board in the top of the fifth on four base hits. Cook led off the inning with a single, and was pinch-ran for by freshman Paige Biles. Junior Ashley Janssen pushed Biles to second to second on a bunt single, and then Biles came around to score on a first-pitch swinging RBI single by senior Alyssa Abramoski. Senior Corissa Santos drove in a run with a groundout, and then Mullen singled to center scoring Abramoski push the lead to 6-1.
Washington U. added three more runs in the seventh. Abramoski drove in a run with an RBI double, and sophomore Kelsey Neal added a sacrifice fly RBI and Polonsky singled to center driving in a run. Mullen was 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Abramoski (2-for-4, two RBIs, two runs scored) and Janssen (2-for-4, two runs scored) added a pair of hits. Cook (13-6) struck out seven and allowed four hits and one earned run in the game-one victory.
Blackburn 5, #24 Washington U. 1 – Game Two
Blackburn (17-17) jumped on game two starter Kelsey Neal with a pair of runs in the first and third innings to jump out to a commanding 4-0 advantage. The Beavers added an unearned run against Cook in the sixth to make it 5-0.
Washington U. put together a rally in the top of the seventh inning after being limited to three hits in the first six innings. Neal led off the seventh with a double to right center, and then was pinch run for by Biles. With one out, White singled to center field scoring Biles to make it 5-1. Cook followed with a single to left, but senior Rebecca Salisbury hit in to a double play to end the threat.
Neal (9-5) took the loss on the mound allowing 10 hits and four earned runs in four innings pitched. Cook pitched the final two innings allowing two hits and an unearned run. Cook has now appeared in 90 career games in her four-year career, passing Victoria Ramsey (2002-05) into third most in school history.
Washington University (26-12) returns to action on Thursday, April 26, with a doubleheader at home against Westminster College. Game one is set for 4 p.m. Live stats will be available at: http://bearsports-livestats.wustl.edu/Softball/xlive.htm.
Bear Notebook: Abramoski and Santos each played in their 166th and 167th game, tied for fourth most in school history … Santos had a double in each game and how has 49 in her career, six shy of the school record… Abramoski scored two runs in game one and is four shy of the school record of 129 by Laura D’Andrea (2005-08).