WASHINGTON – The Georgetown University softball team dropped a pair of losses against Furman and Gardner-Webb on the second day of opening weekend in the Gardner-Webb University Tournament in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. The Hoyas suffered a heartbreaker in the first game against the Paladins (1-3) in extra innings 7-6 and then fell to the Runnin' Bulldogs (3-0) in the second game 10-2. With the loss, the Blue & Gray hold a record of 1-2.
 
Sophomore Savannah Jones (San Rafael, Calif. / Terra Linda) and freshman Mae Forshey (Phoenix, Ariz. / Arcadia) recorded four hits apiece today, two hits per game, and Forshey tallied a pair of RBIs. Junior Alexa Dolby (Round Hill, Va. / Woodgrove) recorded a pair of doubles and an RBI.
 
Sophomore London Diller (Abilene, Texas / George Ranch) took the nod in the circle in game one and gave up three hits and four runs while striking out one and walking two. Junior Katie Vannicola (Vienna, Va. / James Madison HS) took over the next 6.0 innings, giving up six hits and three runs while walking two and striking out three.
 
Freshman Cassie Henning (Atlanta, Ga. / Wesleyan) made her collegiate debut as the starting pitcher for the Hoyas in game two against Gardner-Webb. Henning went 3.0 innings and allowed four runs off of six hits while walking one and striking out one. Junior Casey Kozak (Marlton, N.J. / Bishop Eustace) relieved Henning in the circle and allowed six runs off of six hits while walking one.
 
In game one against the Paladins, Dolby rallied the Blue & Gray in the first inning with a double to right field and then Forshey sent her home to put GU on the board. Junior Noelle Holiday (Bear, Del. / Red Lion Christian Academy) was up next at the plate and hit a double to right center, advancing the Blue & Gray to 2-0. The Paladins answered in the bottom of the inning with three runs to take the lead.
 
Furman scored a pair of runs in the next inning to advance the score to 5-2, but in the top of the fourth, Georgetown fought back with three more runs. Sophomore pinch runner Macy Cartwright (Naples, Fla. / Naples) reached home on a wild pitch to put the Hoyas down by one. Shortly after, Henning tallied another run to even the score at four. Jones made a sacrifice hit at the end of the inning to advance freshman Kiki Besnard (Irvine, Calif. / Northwood) home in order to tie it up, but the Paladins took the lead back again in the bottom of the fourth 6-5.
 
Georgetown tied it up at six in the fifth inning when Dolby tallied another run for the Hoyas, but neither team came out on top the following innings and forced the game into extra innings. The Blue & Gray suffered a heartbreaker in the bottom of the eighth when Furman scored off of a GU error to earn the 7-6 victory.
 
In game two, Gardner-Webb dominated the first two innings with a 4-0 lead. Georgetown entered the scoring column in the top of the fourth when Besnard landed on base and advanced Holiday home but the Runnin' Bulldogs answered with three more runs in the bottom of the inning.
 
Besnard recorded her first collegiate double in the top of the fifth and tallied an RBI with it as well, sending Jones home to make it 7-2. Gardner-Webb put three more runs on the board to finish it off 10-2.
 
The Paladins and the Hoyas recorded nine hits each while GU committed three errors to Furman's two. The Runnin' Bulldogs outhit the Blue & Gray 12-9 and each squad committed one error.
 
The Blue & Gray will wrap up its opening weekend tomorrow against George Washington again with first pitch scheduled for 11 a.m. Live stats will be available at GUHoyas.com.