Softball Takes Walk-Off Win Over UNCG

Colonials won four out of five at the Carolina Classic

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Jenna Cone's ninth-inning sacrifice fly scored Sidney Bloomfield to give George Washington softball a 4-3 walk-off win over UNC Greensboro to close the Carolina Classic on Sunday.

With the extra-inning victory over the defending Southern Conference champion Spartans, the Colonials finished the weekend tournament 4-1, including victories over Power 5 foes Maryland and North Carolina.

Sierra Lange was named Carolina Classic MVP after going the distance in the finale in a career-long outing to earn her ninth win of the season and fourth of the tournament. In addition to her 1.09 ERA over 32 innings pitched in a superb weekend in the circle, the sophomore from Texas also added eight hits, including three doubles and a home run. 

Elena Shelepak (9-for-17 with a home run and a double over the five games) earned a spot on the all-tournament team, as well.

On Sunday, GW (11-3) battled UNCG for nine well-played innings to punctuate an impressive weekend with a victory.

The Colonials scored their first three runs against the Spartans via the long ball. 

Down 2-0 in the second, Hannah Eslick got one back with a solo shot over the left field fence. It was the first homer in Buff and Blue for the sophomore infielder, who joined the club this spring as a transfer.

Cone's two-run homer in the third tied it at 3. The junior slugger's second of the season scored Jessica Linquist, who had doubled to lead off the frame.

The game stayed knotted up thanks to Lange's heroics in the circle. After giving up three runs over the first three innings, the GW hurler shut out the Spartans over the final six frames.  She worked out of bases-loaded jams in the fourth and sixth to keep the game tied.

Extra innings utilized the international tiebreaker rule in which a runner begins the inning at second base.

After neither team could advance its runner in the eighth, GW found a way to take it in the ninth. Lange stranded a runner at third base, and the Colonials were able to manufacture a run in the bottom of the inning.

Marta Fuentes moved Bloomfield to third with a sacrifice bunt to set up Cone's game-winning sacrifice fly.

Linquist reached four times with a pair of doubles and a pair of walks, while Cone finished 2-for-4 with a double, a home run and three RBIs. 

Morgan Kummer tallied two hits in the victory, as well, to finish the weekend with a .545 batting average (6-for-11).

UP NEXT: The Colonials are back at their home field on the Mount Vernon Campus on Tuesday for a doubleheader against Howard, starting at noon. They'll host the Colonial Classic next weekend with five more home games scheduled Friday through Sunday.

Recap, photo courtesy of George Washington