Softball Sweeps Greenville to End Regular Season at 31-10-1
BOX 1 | BOX 2
St. Louis, Mo., May 3, 2011 – The Washington University in St. Louis softball team concluded regular season play with a doubleheader sweep over Greenville College on Tuesday night at the WU Softball Field in St. Louis, Mo. The Bears won game one, 9-0 in six innings, and then posted a 9-0 five-inning win in game two.
Washington University (31-10-1) will have an NCAA Division III Selection Show watch party on Monday, May 9, at 9:45 a.m., in the lobby of the Athletic Complex. Sixth-year head coach Leticia Pineda-Boutté will be in attendance along with members of the softball team. The Bears are looking to secure their 10th-consecutive appearance in the NCAA Division III Championship. The selection show is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., on www.ncaa.com.
Washington U. struck first in game one scoring two runs on three hits in the second inning. Sophomore Sondra Polonsky drove in both runners with a two-out RBI single to left field. An RBI single with the bases loaded in the third by sophomore Alex Fjeldheim pushed the lead 3-0. The Bears had five hits in the first three innings of play, but left four runners on base.
The Bears heated up again in the bottom of the fourth with a double from Polonsky. Sophomore Hilary Stepansky pinch ran for Polonsky and ended up scoring on a wild pitch. Junior Alyssa Abramoski made it 6-0 with a two-RBI double to center field, and then junior Corissa Santos drove in with a run with an RBI to right field.
Freshman Maggie Mullen roped a two-run single up the middle to end the game in the bottom of the sixth, with a final score of 9-0. Mullen finished the game 3-for-4 with two RBIs in the game one victory.
Senior pitcher Claire Voris struck out 10 through the first four innings of play, including her 800th career strikeout in the fourth. Voris (15-4) picked up the win, pitching five shutout innings, allowing just three hits, and tallying 12 strikeouts. Sophomore Kathy Peter came in the game in the sixth inning to close out the game. The Bears finished the game with nine runs on 13 hits.
The Bears scored early in the second game off of an RBI double from sophomore Alex Fjeldheim in the bottom of the second. Freshman Kelsey Neal pushed the lead to 2-0 with a base hit to right, scoring Fjeldheim from second.
Peter started game two on the mound for the Bears, pitching two shutout innings on three hits. Junior Olivia Cook loaded up the bases when she came in to pitch in the third, but got out of the inning on a pop-up to right. The Panthers left the bases loaded in the second and third inning.
Sophomore Ashley Janssen reached base in the third with a single and then scored on an error. The Bears scored again with an RBI single from Mullen, and then Fjeldheim pushed the lead to 5-0 on an RBI single. Polonsky had an RBI walk with the bases loaded to make the score 6-0.
The Bears got hot again in the fourth, with Voris and Santos reaching on base hits. Fjeldheim then stepped up to the plate and crushed a three-run homerun to left-center, pushing the score to 9-0.
Cook (11-5) picked up the win for the Bears, allowing four hits and one walk. The Bears had nine runs on 12 hits in game two. Fjeldheim went 2-3 with five RBIs and a home run, her fourth of the season.
Bear Notebook: The Bears recorded their seventh 30-win season in 11 seasons as a varsity sport … Voris picked up her 70th career victory, and now has 803 strikeouts, 23rd most in DIII history . . . Mullen finished the doubleheader going 5-for-7 with three RBIs and is now hitting a team-best .443 … The Bears have recorded 10 or more hits in 21 games . . . Washington U. is 13-0 all-time against Greenville.