March 15, 2014

Box Score (Georgetown v. Fairfield) Box Score (Georgetown v. Columbia)

Saturday, March 15
Georgetown vs. Fairfield | W, 3-0
Columbia vs. Georgetown | W, 5-0

Sunday, March 16
Georgetown vs. Hofstra | Cancelled
* Championship Game | Cancelled
* Consolation Game | Cancelled

WASHINGTON - Behind three home runs and two stellar pitching performances on Saturday, the Georgetown softball team (9-12) earned two shutout victories at the Hofstra Invitational in Hempstead, N.Y. Georgetown defeated Fairfield, 3-0, in the morning before dropping Columbia in the afternoon, 4-0. Tomorrow's game against Hofstra as well as the championship and consolation games have been cancelled due to forecasted cold weather.

"I was very happy with our overall performance today," said Georgetown Head Coach Pat Conlan. "We executed all phases of the game today. We had timely hits, played solid defense and received two excellent pitching performances. I loved out team energy."

Georgetown 3, Fairfield 0

Both teams went hitless through the initial two innings. The Hoyas struck first top of the third, scoring one run on two hits.

Senior Madeleine Giaquinto (Falls Church, Va./Bishop O'Connell) singled to lead off the third. After two outs and a fielder's choice, sophomore Grace Appelbe (Phoenix, Ariz./Xavier College Prep) came to the plate with Giaquinto on second base. Appelbe knocked Giaquinto in on a single to left field to give Georgetown the 1-0 lead.

Junior starting pitcher Lauren O'Leary (3-6, La Canada, Calif./La Canada) gave up her first hit in the third inning, one of only five she surrendered in the victory. Fairfield never recorded more than one hit per inning from the third inning on as O'Leary and the Georgetown defense stranded all five baserunners. O'Leary threw a complete game, seven-inning shutout effort as she struck out four while not allowing any walks. The win came as O'Leary second shutout on the season and seventh complete game.

The Hoyas added a second run in the fourth inning. Junior Megan Hyson (Pasadena, Md./Chesapeake) doubled to start the inning, but was eventually thrown out a second on a steal attempt. After a groundout, Georgetown did all its damage with two outs. Senior Alexandria Anttila (Antioch, Ill./Antioch Community) singled through the left side to bring Giaquinto up. Giaquinto, who went 2-for-3 on the day, doubled Anttila in to give the Hoyas a 2-0 lead.

Georgetown added its third and final run on a Hyson solo home run with one out in the sixth for her second homer of the season.

Georgetown 4, Columbia 0

Georgetown looked to the long ball again in its second game on Saturday. Senior Hannah Slovacek (Austin, Texas/Westlake) and Alessandra Gargicevich-Almeida (Riverside, Calif./Martin Luther King) both hit their first home runs of the season in the 4-0 victory.

The Hoyas had a scoring opportunity with one out in the bottom of the first inning. After a popout, Appelbe drew a walk for the first GU baserunner in the game. Slovacek singled Appelbe over the second. After an out and a wild pitch, Georgetown found itself with runners on second and third with two outs. But Columbia got out of the jam as they stranded the two Hoyas on the basepaths.

Hyson Slovacek put Georgetown on the board with a solo home run, her first of the year, with two outs in the third inning.

In the sixth inning, Hyson doubled to left field to start the inning. Sophomore Samantha Giovanniello (Floral Park, N.Y./Floral Park Memorial) switched places with Hyson as she doubled her in to put the Hoyas up 2-0. Then A. Gargicevich-Almeida knocked her first home run of her collegiate career, a two-run shot to give GU the 4-0 lead and eventual victory.

After a pitching change, the Hoyas threatened to score more runs in the inning. Freshman Gabriela Elvina (Edison, N.J./Bishop George Ahr) was the first to face the new pitcher as she singled to right center. Sophomore Molly Morrison (Northfield, Ill./New Trier) followed suit with a single of her own to right field. Senior Elyse Graziano (Floral Park, N.Y./Sacred Heart Academy) reached on a fielder's choice as Elvina was thrown out at home trying to score. An error loaded the bases with two outs, but Georgetown could not tack on any more runs, nor did they need them.

Hyson (6-6), who started the game in the circle, came out in the seventh and put Columbia down without much trouble. Hyson ended the seven inning, complete game shutout performance with 12 strikeouts to only one walk. The 12 strikeouts was one short a career high set during her freshman season. The junior struck out six batters for all six outs in the fourth and fifth innings. She only allowed three hits as she lowered her season earned run average to 1.86 as opponents are only hitting just .197 off her. It was her fourth shutout victory on the season.

Quick Hits
- The two shutout victories marked the fifth and sixth shutouts on the season for Georgetown pitchers. Georgetown recorded four shutouts at the 49er Invitational earlier in the season.
- Hyson, Anttila and Giaquinto all went 2-for-3 in the 3-0 win over Fairfield in the morning.
- Seven Georgetown players recorded a hit in the 4-0 victory over Columbia; Slovacek had the only multi-hit game.
-Hyson fell one strikeout short of her career high 13 K's with 12 strikeouts against Columbia today. Hyson struck out 13 in an 8-0 shutout win over UMBC her freshman year on April 3, 2012. She also stuck out 12 once in a 4-2 win against Middle Tennessee on March 8, 2013.
-Hyson has recorded double-digit strikeouts five times in her career. Today's 12 strikeouts were the first time she recorded double-digit strikeouts this season.
-The five extra-base hits against Columbia was a team high for the 2014 season. The three doubles tied a team season-high in the 5-0 no-hit win over Stony Brook on Feb. 28.
-The two home runs in the win over Columbia was the first multi-homer game since the Hoyas hit six in a win over Rutgers last season on April 6, 2013. Georgetown recorded five multi-HR games last season.
-Hyson has the longest current team hitting streak with five games.
-Grace Appelbe has reached base safely in her last eight games, a current team-high.