The Georgetown Softball Team (8-5, BIG EAST) traveled to Lynchburg, Virginia this weekend for the Liberty Softball Invitational and came out with a 2-3 record. The Hoyas had two decisive wins against Drexel University, but ultimately fell to the No. 21 Liberty Flames, as well as Lehigh and Appalachian State.
Game 1: Feb. 28
In the first matchup of the five-game long Liberty Softball Invitational, the Hoyas pulled out a high-scoring 15-9 win over the Drexel University Dragons. Drexel got on the board first with an early run in the first inning, but Georgetown quickly responded with runs from Emily Strittmatter, Sammy Fenton, and Abby Kozo, all in the first. By the fourth inning, the Hoyas were up a decisive 7-0 lead. Despite narrowing the lead to only 7-5 in the fourth, the Dragons made some defensive errors that resulted in Hoya runs, along with additional scores from sophomore infielder Strittmatter and a home run from junior outfielder Claire Turner. Drexel brought three more home in the 5th, but after a scoreless sixth and seventh for the Dragons and a single from Gabby Park that scored Nina Sarlo in the sixth for Georgetown, they were unable to overtake the Hoyas. The final score was 15-9, decisive win for the Hoyas and a promising start for the first game of the invitational.
Game 2: Feb. 28
Unfortunately, in the second game of day one of the Liberty Softball Invitational, the Georgetown Hoyas fell to the Liberty University Flames 0-6. Elena Escobar, the senior pitcher from Liberty, had ten strikeouts in the game, which lasted an hour and a half. While the Hoyas played a clean defensive game, the ranked No. 21 Flames scored in the first, second, third, and fifth innings, putting them ahead of the Hoyas and leading to a shutout on their home field.
Game 3: Mar. 1
The Hoyas recovered from their loss on Friday with an early, strong 16-4 win in game three of the invitational, a rematch against Drexel. The Hoyas had an explosive first inning, scoring five unanswered runs. Points from Turner, Park, Dayanara Campos, Strittmatter, and Kozo put the Hoyas in a strong lead going into the second. This lead was met by the shortstop, graduate student Sammy Fenton who scored a home run in the second, taking the Hoyas to a 6-0 lead. Some scattered points for the Dragons brought the score to 6-3 going into the final inning, where the Hoyas took off. Consistent hits led to scores from Strittmatter, Park, Campos, Fenton, and Holly Pardini while defensive and passing errors from the Dragons brought in five more runs from Brooke Rehban, Sarlo, Turner, Strittmatter, and Park. While the Dragons were able to score one more run in the bottom of the seventh, it was not enough to overpower Georgetown. The Hoyas came out of the first game on day two with a 16-4 win.
Game 4: Mar. 1
After a close battle, Georgetown fell to Lehigh 3-4 on the second game of day two of the invitational. The first three innings remained scoreless with graduate student pitcher Sage Hager keeping the Mountain Hawks at bay. Lehigh got on the board first, pulling a 3-0 lead in the fourth. Georgetown responded in the fifth with a single from Strittmater that drove sophomore outfielder Stefani Murciano to score. Lehigh responded and the game was 4-1 going into the sixth. The Hoyas pulled home two more runs in the sixth, one from Sarlo off of a single from Pardini and the other from Kozo off of Murciano’s single. However, the final push in the sixth was not enough to overcome Lehigh, with a scoreless seventh ending the game and day with a Hoya 3-4 loss.
Game 5: Mar. 2
The Hoyas’ final game of the Liberty Softball Invitational ended in a 2-10 loss against App State, sending the Hoyas into spring break on a loss. Georgetown got off to a hot start as the first team on the board. Singles from Campos and Kozo drove Park and Strittmatter home, respectively. However, after the first inning, the Hoyas did not get on the board again. A huge third inning for the Mountaineers put them up 5-2, and additional runs in the fifth, sixth, and seventh left the Hoyas with a final score of 2-10. While the Hoyas had several good hits in the rest of the game, this loss was a disappointing end to the weekend for Georgetown.
Overall, the Hoyas played strongly enough to maintain their winning record, but they were stumped by most of the teams in the invitational. The team showed great potential, especially in the ability to finish when players were on base, but there was still a lot of improvement to be made. Emily Strittmatter, Gabby Park, and Abby Kozo had standout performances throughout the weekend, each involved in several runs and scoring in each game. It was the work of those three that really pushed the Hoyas to connect and avoid lost runs with players stuck on base.
However, as head coach Karla Ross mentioned in a press conference, it was consistency in the pitching that Georgetown struggled with, and what ended up being a key part in their three losses. All three pitchers, Sage Hager, Kayla Dunn, and Julia Parker had successful innings, and in the case of Dunn and Parker, winning games. However, they each also had numerous innings where they gave up several runs. All three pitchers are strong, but it will come down to consistency for the rest of the season.
The Hoyas play again this Wednesday at the Washington Nationals Youth Academy against Holy Cross (3-3, Patriot League) before traveling to New Jersey next weekend for a series against Seton Hall (5-9) for a BIG EAST matchup. For continued coverage and updates on Georgetown sports, follow @GUVoiceSports on Twitter.
