Bats Come Alive as Softball Wins Grinnell Tournament Championship
BOX 1 | BOX 2 | UPDATED STATS
Grinnell, Iowa, April 7, 2012 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team recorded 28 hits and short gamed two opponents as the Bears captured the Grinnell College Tournament Championship on Saturday afternoon in Grinnell, Iowa.
Washington U. had 12 hits in a 12-2 win in five innings over host Grinnell College in the final round robin game, and then recorded 16 hits in a 13-2 six-inning victory over Nebraska Wesleyan University in the championship. Washington U. dropped a 7-5 decision to Nebraska Wesleyan in 11 innings on Friday.
Senior Olivia Cook and junior Ashley Janssen each were named to the eight-person all-tournament team. Cook was 2-1 with a 1.40 earned run average in 20.0 innings pitched on the mound and hit .500 (7-for-14) with a double and three RBIs in the four games. Janssen also hit .500 (6-for-12) with two RBIs, a triple and four walks and had an on-base percentage of .588 from her leadoff spot.
Washington U. hit .366 as a team in the four-game tournament, and the pitching staff recorded a 1.45 ERA allowing just six earned runs in 29 innings pitched. Senior Alyssa Abramoski hit a team-best .556 (5-for-9) with three doubles, a triple and a team-best six RBIs, while sophomore Maggie Mullen hit .538 (7-for-13) with a double, a home run and four RBIs.
Washington U. 12, Grinnell 2 (five innings)
The Bears jumped out in front 2-0 over Grinnell with a pair of runs in the top of the second. Abramoski drove in a run with an RBI triple for the first run of the game, and then scored on a wild pitch. The triple for Abramoski was the 11th of her career, tied for most in school history.
Grinnell (1-16) scored a run in the bottom half of the inning on a home run by Amanda Stromquist to cut the lead to 2-1. The home run for Stromquist broke a three-way tie for the most in Grinnell school history with nine. The Bears tacked on another run in the third after Janssen singled and scored on a throwing error by third baseman Christina Colver.
The Pioneers scored an unearned run in the bottom of the third to make it 3-2, a score that would stand until the top of the fifth. Washington U. broke open the contest with nine runs on eight hits in the fifth.
The first three batters of the inning reached base with a single, as Cook drove in the first run with a bunt single. With the bases loaded, Mullen drove in two runs with a single up the middle to make it 7-2. The Bears pushed across two more runs, as junior Sondra Polonsky and Mullen each scored on a wild pitch. Mullen came all the way around from second base to score on the wild pitch.
Sophomore Kelsey Neal pinch-hit and swung at the first pitch and drove it to left field for an RBI, and then freshman Alyssa Wilson doubled to deep left to drive in another run. Janssen and Cook added RBIs in the inning for the Bears. Janssen was 3-for-3 with two runs scored and an RBI, while Cook was 3-for-4 with two RBIs. Wilson added two hits and scored two runs scored.
Junior starting pitcher Kathy Peter (3-1) picked up the win on the mound allowing two hits and two runs (one earned) in four innings pitched. Neal pitched the fifth allowing one base runner.
Washington U. 13, Nebraska Wesleyan 2 (six innings, championship game)
The Bears struck first in their opening at-bat against Nebraska Wesleyan with a run on two hits, capped by an RBI double by senior Corissa Santos. Cook retired the first two batters in the bottom half of the inning, but after a walk to Becky Bomberger, Lauren Bedfield crushed a home run over the center field fence to make it 2-1.
Washington U. scored five runs on four hits in the top of the third to jump ahead 6-2. After turning a double play to end the second, freshman Adrienne White homered on the first pitch she saw at the plate. It was the first homerun of White’s career. Polonsky drove in a run with a sacrifice fly and Abramoski added a two-RBI double in the inning.
The Bears added another run in the top of the fourth on an RBI by Janssen to make it 7-2, and then tacked on two more in the fifth on a double by Polonsky and a bases loaded walk by White to push the lead to 9-2. Washington U. put the game out of reach with four runs in the sixth. Santos had an RBI single, Abramoski drove in two more runs with a double and sophomore pinch-hitter Stacy Berg added an RBI single.
Abramoski (3-for-4, four RBIs) and Santos (3-for-4, three runs scored, two RBIs) each had three hits, while Cook (2-for-3, two runs scored), Polonsky (2-for-3, two runs scored, two RBIs) and White (2-for-2, two runs scored, two RBIs) had a pair of base hits.
Washington University (18-10) continues its 12-game road trip against Principia College on Tuesday, April 10. Game one is set to begin at 4 p.m. in Elsah, Ill.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. recorded back-to-back double digit hits for the first time since opening the season with four-straight games of double-digit hits … The Bears were 14-of-25 on Saturday with runners in scoring position after going 4-of-36 on Friday … Santos two doubles on Saturday moved her into second on the all-time list (43), while Abramoski moved into seventh place (33) … Santos also moved into a tie for third place in career hits (175) while Abramoski is ninth (162).