Janssen, Voris Lead Bears Past No. 22 North Central

BOX SCORE

Greencastle, Ind., May 15, 2010 – Freshman Ashley Janssen went 2-for-2 with two RBIs and hit her first career home run to lead the No. 17 ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team to a 5-0 victory over No. 22 North Central College on Saturday morning at the 2010 NCAA Division III Central Regional held at DePauw University in Greencastle, Ind.

Washington University, which improved its overall record to 36-10 and won its second-straight elimination game, takes on Trine University at 4 p.m. (ET) on Saturday.

"I am seeing the ball the best I have all season long," said Janssen. "Our team has high energy right now and lots of confidence. We are in this tournament to win it."

Junior pitcher Claire Voris tossed her second-straight complete-game shutout, allowing three hits while striking out three. Voris has a 2-1 record with a 0.41 earned run average in NCAA Tournament play, and has allowed one earned run in 17 innings.

Senior Megan Fieser walked to lead off the bottom of the first, and then stole her school-record 33rd base of the year. Janssen then followed with an RBI single to give the Bears a 1-0 for the third-straight game.

A leadoff solo home run by senior Ally Berenter made it 2-0 in the second, and then Janssen led of the third inning with a solo shot to centerfield to make it 3-0. Washington U. added two unearned runs in the sixth inning to push the lead to 5-0.

Sophomore Alyssa Abramoski went 2-for-3 in the victory, as Washington University had six hits. Janssen (4-for-7, .571), Fieser (6-for-12, .500) and senior Carter Malouf (4-for-9, .444) are all hitting over. 400 through three games in the NCAA Central Regional.

"We are in a rhythm right now and our kids are matching and exceeding our play in each games," said fifth-year head coach Leticia Pineda-Boutté. "It’s nice to see our hitters getting back on track and having great at-bats."

Lyndsey Payne took the loss for North Central, which ends its season with a 32-14 record. Payne (13-5) allowed six hits and three earned runs while striking out five in the loss.

Bear Notebook: Washington University is 20-17 all-time in NCAA Tournament play … This was the first meeting in school history between the two teams … The Bears are 3-2 against teams ranked in the NFCA Top-25 poll … Voris threw 85 pitches against North Central, with 58 being strikes.