Softball Falls to #16 UW-Whitewater, 2-1, in 14 Innings; Bears End Season at 32-12-1
BOXSCORE
Pella, Iowa, May 15, 2011 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team saw its season come to an end with a 2-1 14-inning loss to No. 16 ranked University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in the NCAA Midwest Regional on Sunday afternoon at Central College in Pella, Iowa. The Bears stranded an NCAA Division III record 20 runners left on base in the defeat.
Washington University ends the 2011 season with a 32-12-1 overall record, the sixth 30-win season in school history. The Bears place second in the University Athletic Association (UAA) and qualified for the NCAA Tournament for the 10th-straight season.
“It was not our day offensively for timely hitting. We had plenty of opportunities to score and never could get that key hit,” said sixth-year head coach Leticia Pineda-Boutté. “I just never thought we got into a zone offensively. We were not looking for good pitches early in the count, which we did all year long.”
This marked the final game in the Red and Green for Washington U.’s three seniors: Ally Berenter, Antonia Ferguson and Claire Voris. As a group, the three seniors leave the Danforth Campus compiling an overall record of 117-49-2, good for a winning percentage of 70.2. The three seniors were apart of two UAA Championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
“All three seniors were captains this year and brought a lot of leadership. We will definitely miss them and have big shoes to fill,” added Pineda-Boutté.
Voris (16-5) allowed 12 hits and two earned runs in the defeat, and tossed her school-record 72nd complete game. She walked three and struck out nine while throwing 174 pitches. Voris ends her four-year career ranked 21st in NCAA Division III history with 818 strikeouts. UW-Whitewater starting pitcher Jessica Stang gave up 10 hits and an earned run, while walking eight and striking out 10. Stang threw 239 pitches in the 14-inning marathon.
Whitewater (28-11) outhit Washington U., 12-10, and scored two runs on three hits in the top of the 14th after playing 13 scoreless innings. Haley Krueger broke the tie with a solo home run with one out, and then an RBI single by Kate McDonnell pushed the advantage to 2-0. Freshman Kelsey Neal got Washington University on the scoreboard with a solo shot with one out in the bottom of the 14th, but Stang retired the final two batters to seal the victory.
Sophomore Ashley Janssen was 2-for-4 with three walks, while freshman Maggie Mullen and Voris added a pair of hits. Sarah Fisher was 4-for-6 and Emily Epifanio went 3-for-6 for UW-Whitewater, who takes on No. 5 Central College in an elimination game on Sunday at 7:30 p.m.
After getting out of the first inning unscathed, Washington University loaded the bases in the bottom half of the first after two walks and an infield single by Voris. Stang got Mullen to strikeout on fourpitches, and then struck out sophomore Alex Fjeldheim on three pitches to end the threat.
Washington U. loaded the bases again in the bottom of the fourth inning, but Stang struck out junior Corissa Santos to end the threat. The Bears left 10 runners on base before the game was called in the top of the fifth on Saturday.
The Bears loaded the bases for the third time in the contest, this time in the bottom of the eighth. Junior Alyssa Abramoski and Voris singled with one out, and then Santos walked to load the bases. Stang struck out Mullen for the second out, and then got behind on the count 3-0 with Fjeldheim. Stang got the count to 3-1, before getting Fjeldheim to ground to short to end the inning. Washington U. left 18 runners on basethrough the first eight innings of play.
Bear Notebook: Washington U. is 22-20 (.537) all-time in the NCAA Tournament … The Bears are 3-7-1 against teams ranked in the NFCA Top-25 Poll … The Bears and the Warhawks met for the first time since April 20, 2001, and just the second time in school history … The extra inning affair was the first in 42 NCAA Tournament games in school history … Mullen, Voris and junior Rebecca Salisbury had seven at-bats, which is a WUSTL single-game record … The 14 innings played marked the longest game in school history … Washington U. also set a single-game school record for at-bats (51) and putouts (42) … The previous NCAA Division III record for runners left on base was Rochester Institute of Technology vs. Niagara on April 13, 1984.