Polonsky's Two Home Runs Leads Bears Past #18 DePauw, 8-7
BOX 1 | BOX 2
Greencastle, Ind., April 30, 2011 – Sophomore Sondra Polonsky went 3-for-4 with two home runs and three RBIs in an 8-7 victory in game two as the Washington University in St. Louis softball team salvaged a doubleheader split at No. 18 ranked DePauw University on Saturday afternoon in Greencastle, Ind. The Bears suffered an 8-2 loss in the opening game.
Polonsky, who entered the day with one home run in 63 career games, had a solo shot in the second and then a two-run home run in the seventh. She is hitting .409 this season with three home runs and 30 RBIs.
The Bears struck first in game two following a solo home run to dead centerfield by Polonsky with one out. DePauw added two runs in the second inning, on an RBI single by Holly Paris and an RBI by Ashlee Anton. A solo home run by junior Corissa Santos in the third made it 2-2.
The Bears made it 4-2 with two runs on four hits in the fifth, highlighted by freshman Maggie Mullen’s two-out, two–run home run to center field. Mullen now leads the team with nine home runs and 46 RBIs in her rookie campaign.
Washington U. tacked on two more runs in the sixth on a two-out, two RBI single by senior Claire Voris.
DePauw would not go away, as a two RBI single down the leftfield line by Rachel MacBeth trimmed the Washington U. advantage to 6-4. Sophomore Alex Fjeldheim led off the top of the seventh with a double, and then Polonsky drove in the eventual game-winning run with her second home run of the day to centerfield.
The Tigers got the two runs back in the bottom of the seventh following a two-run home run by Emma Minx to make it 8-6. An RBI single by Jamie story cut the lead to 8-7 with two outs, but junior pitcher Olivia Cook got Cymone Allen to ground out to end the game. Cook (10-5) picked up the complete-game victory despite giving up 13 hits and seven earned runs.
The Bears had 15 hits in game two, including a season-high four round trippers. Abramoski, Fjeldheim, junior Rebecca Salisbury and Voris all had two hits in the game two victory.
Mullen drove in the first run of the first game in the top of first with a two-out single up the middle scoring junior Alyssa Abramoski. The Tigers jumped ahead in the bottom of the second inning following a two-run home run by Amy Hallett.
DePauw (27-8-1) added four runs in the bottom of the third inning to jump ahead 6-1. With the bases loaded and two outs, Haley Buchanan drilled a pitch from Voris over the centerfield fence for a grand slam.
Buchanan tallied her team-leading 12th home run in the bottom of the fifth, this time off Cook, to push DePauw’s advantage to 8-1. The home run allowed by Cook was the first in 96 innings pitched this season. Abramoski added an RBI single in the top of the seventh to round out the scoring.
Voris (14-4) suffered the loss on the mound, allowing six earned runs and four hits in three innings pitched. Cook tossed three innings in relief allowing four hits and two earned runs.
Washington University (29-10-1) wraps up the 2011 regular season with a doubleheader against Greenville College on Tuesday, May 3. Game one is set to begin at 5 p.m. at the WU Softball Field.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. is ranked No. 3 in the Midwest Regional Rankings while DePauw is No. 2 the Central Region … Washington U. is 3-6 all-time against DePauw.