March 20, 2011
Box Score
WASHINGTON - The Georgetown University softball team closed out the Radford Invitational with a 3-0 loss to BIG EAST foe Pittsburgh on Sunday afternoon. Mackensey Carter (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) was named to the All-Tournament Team after her performance in Botetourt, Va., as the Hoyas finished the weekend event with a 2-3 record.
Overall, Georgetown's record now stands at 5-20 after the defeat, while Pittsburgh improves to 17-6 on the year.
GU held a potent offense in check for the majority of the game, never allowing more than one run in an inning, but was unable to score off Cory Berliner despite a couple of opportunities to get on the board. Carter and senior Melissa Conners (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) combined in the circle to allow three earned runs on nine hits.
Pittsburgh scored one run in the first and third innings on RBI hits off the bat of Kelly Hmiel to put Georgetown in a 2-0 hole. The Hoyas looked poised to tie the game in the fourth inning, loading the bases with only one out, but were ultimately thwarted in their attempt to knot the game at 2-2.
Sophomore Shikara Lowe (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) led off the top of that inning with a single back up the middle. After senior Jillian Webb (Hemet, Calif./Hemet) struck out, freshman Jenna Stark (Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran) reached first base safely on a fielder's choice and Lowe advanced to second on an error by shortstop Niki Cognigni. Sophomore Jordan Hansen (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) singled down the right-field line to load the bases. With the potential for a big inning looming, Berliner struck out the next two Hoya batters to end the threat and maintain the shutout.
The Panthers added another insurance run in the bottom of the fifth inning on a sacrifice fly off the bat of Cognigni and held the Blue & Gray scoreless in the sixth and seventh to earn the victory.
Carter was 2-for-4 on the day and was named to the All-Tournament Team for her efforts at the Botetourt Sports Complex. She had a hit in four of the five games in Virginia, including a home run against Delaware in an 11-6 win on Friday. In the circle, Carter started three games, going 2-1 with a 2.33 ERA in 18 innings. She tossed a complete-game shutout, her first of the year, in the Hoyas' 1-0 win over Robert Morris on Saturday.
Along with Carter, Lowe and Hansen, sophomore Danielle Cyr (Doylestown, Pa./Central Bucks West) registered the Hoyas' fifth hit in the game, singling in a pinch-hit appearance in the seventh inning for her first hit of the season.
Georgetown returns to action on Tuesday afternoon when it hosts the Drexel Dragons in a doubleheader at Guy Mason Field. First pitch in game one is set for 3 p.m.
