SOUTH ORANGE, N.J. – The Georgetown University softball team went 1-1 against Seton Hall on Saturday in a BIG EAST doubleheader at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field. The Hoyas defeated the Pirates 6-5 in game one but fell 8-4 to them in game two. With the split record on the day, GU stands 13-32 overall and 5-10 in the BIG EAST while SHU is 21-23 on the season and 7-8 in the league.
Five different Hoyas had a pair of hits on the day, including juniors
Noelle Holiday (Bear, Del. / Red Lion Christian Academy), who also recorded a pair of RBIs, and
Alexa Dolby (Round Hill, Va. / Woodgrove), who scored three runs for GU. Sophomore
Savannah Jones (San Rafael, Calif. / Terra Linda) hit a home run and brought in three runs and freshmen
Cassie Henning (Atlanta, Ga. / Wesleyan) and
Kiki Besnard (Irvine, Calif. / Northwood), as well as sophomore
Macy Cartwright (Naples, Fla. / Naples), all landed doubles.
In game one, sophomore
London Diller (Sugar Land, Texas / George Ranch) pitched all seven innings for the Hoyas. Diller allowed five runs off of six hits, walked three and struck out five.
The Blue & Gray got the bats going in the top of the second. Senior
Sarah Bennett (Owings, Md. / Northern) started the rally for the Hoyas with a hit to right field and Besnard moved the bases after reaching first on an error. Next at the plate was Henning, who landed a double to center field and brought in the first run for GU. With senior
Kelly Amen (Hillsborough, N.J. / Hillsborough) at the plate, Henning and Besnard advanced bases on a wild pitch and made it 2-0. Amen flew out to the outfield but was able to score Henning on the throw to give Georgetown a 3-0 lead.
The Pirates made it a one-run game in the bottom of the second. SHU scored a pair of runs off two hits to cut GU's lead to 3-2. In the bottom of the third, Seton Hall tied it up at 3 with a hit to shallow left field.
Georgetown took back its lead in the top of the fourth. With bases loaded from a pair of hits and a hit by pitch, Bennett reached home on Amen's sacrifice fly to right field and made it 4-3. During Seton Hall's at-bat in the bottom of the inning, the Pirates took their first lead of the game with a two-run homer out of left field.
The back-and-forth scoring continued in the top of the fifth. With Dolby and Cartwright on base off of a hit and a walk, respectively, Jones sacrificed the out at first in order to score Dolby and even the score at 5. Holiday then gave the Hoyas back a 6-5 lead with a single straight down the middle to bring Cartwright home.
Georgetown held the Pirates from scoring in the last two innings to seal the 6-5 victory in game one.
In game two, Henning got the start in the circle and threw 3.2 innings of work. The rookie allowed five runs off of seven hits. Junior
Katie Vannicola (Vienna, Va. / James Madison HS) relieved Henning in the fourth inning and pitched the rest of the game. She gave up three runs off of five hits and struck out a pair.
Seton Hall started the scoring early in its first at-bat. The Pirates scored off of a two-run homer. Georgetown answered in the top of the first with the same scoring scenario. With Dolby on second, Jones knocked one out of center field and made it even at 2 with a two-RBI home run.
SHU scored three more runs in the next two innings to jump to a 5-2 lead. The Blue & Gray made it 5-3 in the top of the sixth as Holiday singled to the outfield but got out on the throw to second and was able to send Cartwright home on the play.
In their next at-bat, the Pirates extended their lead to 8-3 off of a double and a home run. The Hoyas tried to fight back in their final frame and scored one more run, but it was not enough to battle the 8-4 deficit. The fourth and final run was brought in by Cartwright, who recorded her first career double.
The Hoyas will return to action on Sunday to close out the series at noon at Mike Sheppard, Sr. Field. Live stats and a live stream will be available at GUHoyas.com.
