March 22, 2011
Box Score
WASHINGTON - Kristi Preuss (LaPlata, Md./LaPlata) hit her first home run of the season and Melissa Conners (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) tossed a complete-game gem, her fourth of the year, as the Georgetown University softball team (6-21) defeated Drexel, 4-2, at Guy Mason Field on Tuesday in the first game of a twilight doubleheader. The Hoyas were on the losing end of a 4-2 score in game two.
This marks the third consecutive time GU has split the first in a pair of back-to-back games, winning the opening contests in tournament doubleheaders last Friday and Saturday. With the results, Georgetown's record now stands at 6-21, while Drexel moves to 7-10.
The Blue & Gray jumped on the Dragons early, scoring one run in each of the first and second innings. After Conners set down the first three Drexel batters without any trouble in the top of the first, Georgetown took the lead when Mackensey Carter (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) led off the bottom of the inning with a walk. She then advanced to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Alexandria Anttila (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community). Anttila, who handles the bat well, leads the BIG EAST in that category with 10 sacrifice hits.
A one-out walk by Jenna Stark (Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran) put runners on first and second until Jordan Hansen (Omaha, Neb./Millard West) singled back up the middle to score Carter and give the Hoyas the lead, 1-0. Georgetown had an opportunity to increase the damage, but Stark was thrown out at home trying to score from second base on a single by junior Cara Savarese (Syosset, N.Y./Syosset) with two outs.
Drexel tied the game in the top of the second, but the stalemate didn't last long. Elyse Graziano (Floral Park, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) sparked a two-out rally in the bottom half of the inning, drawing a walk and then stealing second base. She was driven home on a Mackensey Carter single to put GU back on top, 2-1. The senior was 2-for-4 in the game and 4-for-6 on the day (.667).
The Dragons tied the game, 2-2, scoring one in the top of the third, but another RBI single by Carter proved to be the difference, as the Hoyas would take the lead for good in the bottom of the fourth. Senior Kristi Preuss hit a bomb to right field in the bottom of the sixth, a solo shot, to give Conners some breathing room, but the senior left-hander didn't allow a run after the third inning and Georgetown secured the 4-2 win. Conners has a 2.80 ERA in her last five appearances.
The finish was not without drama, however, as a sparkling defensive play by Graziano in center field saved the game and prevented extra innings. With a runner on second base, Drexel's Laura Stagliano drove a soaring shot to center, but Graziano caught the ball while running over the outfield wall, robbing the would-be home run and ensuring the Hoyas would come out on top.
In the second game, Georgetown was done in by a pair of home runs off the bat of Paige Collings, a solo shot in the fourth and a two-run home run in the sixth, as the team fell, 4-2. The Hoyas mounted a seventh-inning rally and senior Jillian Webb (Hemet, Calif./Hemet) drove in two-runs with a textbook two-strike, opposite-field hit to the left side, but that would be all they could manage in the loss. Webb is batting .308 in her last 13 at bats.
Georgetown returns to Guy Mason Field for a home game against Utah under the lights tomorrow night. First pitch is set for 6 p.m.
