From Washington University Athletics
The No. 23-ranked Washington University in St. Louis softball team remained in the hunt for a conference title after splitting a pair of games Saturday at the 2015 University Athletic Association (UAA) Championship Saturday at the Seminole County Softball Complex in Altamonte Springs, Fla.
Washington U. (15-4, 7-2 UAA) suffered a 9-5 loss to No. 8-ranked Emory University in game one, and then had 14 hits in an 11-4 win over New York University in the second game. Washington U. and Emory are tied for first place in the UAA standings with one game remaining. The Bears take on Brandeis University Sunday, March 15, at 10 a.m. (ET).
#8 Emory 9, #23 Washington U. 5
Emory jumped out in front in the top of the first after Tara Fallahee singled to right and Micah Scharff just beat the throw from right field. Washington U. junior pitcher Annie Pitkin got out of a bases loaded jam with a strikeout of Ashley Powers to end the threat in the first.
In the second, WashU had runners on second and third with one out when Scharff made a game-saving play. She picked off sophomore Janet Taylor on a safety squeeze attempt and then tagged junior Brooke Hofer who was attempting to steal from third. Emory tacked on another run in the third after Scharff scored her second run of the game on a wild pitch from Pitkin.
Emory (16-2, 6-2 UAA) scored two runs on three hits in the fifth off Pitkin to build a 4-0 lead. Trailing by four runs, freshman Hera Tang ripped a pinch-hit RBI single to left scoring freshman pinch runner Ashley Madsen to get WashU on the board.
The Eagles added a run in the sixth to regain the four-run advantage. In the bottom half of the inning, senior Adrienne White launched a deep homerun to left with one out, and then after a double by sophomore Hannah Mehrle, Hofer followed with a single through the left side to make it 5-3.
Emory scored four runs (three unearned) in the top of the seven to move ahead 9-3, but Washington U. rallied against Emory relief pitcher Brittany File. Mehrle drove in a run with an infield single, and then Taylor walked to drive in another run. Emory went back to starter Brittany Carpenter and she got Hofer to pop up with the bases loaded to end the game.
Pitkin (9-2) took the loss allowing eight hits and a season-high five earned runs in 5 2/3 innings pitched. She struck out eight and walked three. Freshman Maggie Clapp tossed one inning allowing four hits and four runs (one earned), while freshman Mackenzie Gaudenrecorded the final out. Hofer was 2-for-3 with a double and RBI while Biles was 2-for-4 with a run scored. Washington U. had nine hits and committed a season-high four errors in the loss.
#23 Washington U. 11, New York 4
New York (0-13, 0-9 UAA) scored three runs on four hits and knocked WashU starter Mackenzie Gauden out of the game in the first inning. With Clapp on the mound to keep it a three-run game, Washington U. mounted its comeback. Taylor drove in the first run of the game for WashU with an RBI single in the third to trim the lead to 3-1.
In the fourth, the bottom of the lineup got the going for the Bears in a three-run inning. Sophomore Halle Steinberg and seniors Sydney Caldwell and Alyssa Wilson singled to load the bases with no outs. Freshman Hera Tang reached on a fielders choice that allowed a run to score to make it 3-2. White followed with a double down the left field line driving in two runs to give WashU its first lead at 4-3.
The bottom of the order continued to produce as Hofer reached on an error and Steinberg singled with one out in the fifth to get a rally going. Caldwell followed with an RBI single to left, and then WashU took advantage of the Violet's fourth error of the game to add an unearned run to make it 6-3.
Washington U. added five runs on six hit in the seventh to put the game out of reach. Sophomore Kenzie James had a two-run single and White added a three-run homerun to center to round out the scoring. The homerun for White was her team-leading seventh of the year and 13th of her career, 11th most in school history.
Clapp (2-1) picked up the win allowing four hits and one earned run in six innings of relief. White was 2-for-5 with a season-high five RBIs, while Caldwell was 3-for-4 with two runs scored. Caldwell (3-for-4, two runs scored, RBI), Steinberg (2-for-3, two runs scored) and Wilson (2-for-4, two runs scored) also had multi-hit games. The Bears had 14 hit in the win.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: The Bears have recorded six games with 10 or more hits … White has a season-long 15-game hitting streak, while Mehrle has hit safely in 11-straight … White leads the UAA Tournament in doubles (eight), hits (16) and RBIs (18), while Biles is second in batting average (.469) … White is hitting .444 with four HR and 18 RBIs in nine UAA games … The Bears lead the UAA Championship in ERA (2.00) … White moved into seventh place in school history in RBIs (114) and eighth in hits (173).