From Washington University Athletics
The Washington University in St. Louis softball team won a pair of games Wednesday at the Spring Games in Leesburg, Fla., to give head coach Michelle Venturella her 200th career victory.
The Bears recorded 16 hits in a 13-3 win over Smith College in the opener, and then posted a 9-1 victory in five innings over Amherst College in game two.
Venturella has a 201-208 (.491) career record in nine seasons as a collegiate coach – 6-3 at WashU and 195-205 at University of Illinois at Chicago.
WashU 13, Smith 3
Senior Hannah Mehrle went 3-for-5 with a double, triple, homerun, four runs scored and a career-high five RBIS in game one against Smith. Mehrle was a single shy of the cycle.
Sophomore Taylor Arends (3-for-5, two runs scored, two RBIs), senior Kenzie James (3-of-4, three runs scored), senior Janet Taylor (2-for-3, run scored two RBIs) and freshman Amy Walsh (3-for-3, two runs scored, RBI) also had multi-hit games for the Bears.
WashU scored three runs in the first inning on just one hit and took advantage. Mehrle had the lone RBI of the inning. The lead grew to 6-0 with three runs in the second following an RBI single by Arends and a two-run home run by Mehrle.
Smith scored two runs off junior starting pitcher Mackenzie Gauden in the second, but Walsh doubled in a run in the third and junior Anna McKee added an RBI single in the fourth to make it 8-2.
Taylor added two RBIs, while Mehrle had a two-RBI triple in the seventh.
Gauden (1-0) picked up the win allowing six hits and two earned runs in four innings pitched, while freshman Hannah McCall got the save allowing three hits and one unearned run in three innings.
WashU 9, Amherst 1 (Five Innings)
Senior Halle Steinberg drove in a career-high four runs in the game two victory over Amherst. She got the Bears on the scoreboard first in the bottom of the second when she sent a pitch over the fence for a three-run homerun to make it 3-0. The round tripper for Steinberg was the third of her career.
Amherst scored a run in the third, but the Bears put the game out of reach by scoring four runs in the four. Arredondo and sophomore Josie Elder each drove in a run with a bases loaded walk, and then Steinberg pushed across a run by reaching on an error. James made it 7-1 with an RBI bunt single.
James and Mehrle each had a pair of hits for WashU, who recorded eight hits in the win. Sophomore Josi Elder did not record an official at-bat after tying a school record with four walks. Elder also added a pair of RBIs.
McKee (2-1) tossed her third complete game of the year allowing two hits and one earned run. She also struck out seven and walked three.
BEAR NOTEBOOK: The Bears have outscored their opponents 49-9 during their current four-game win streak … Mehrle has hit safely in all nine games and moved into a tie for fourth place in school history in hits (187) … Taylor increased her career walk total to 57, fourth most in school history and seven shy of school record.