ATLANTA, Ga. – The No. 7 Washington University in St. Louis softball team split with Emory on Friday afternoon, setting up a winner-take-all situation on Saturday for the UAA title.
The Bears are 27-5-1 on the year with a 14-3 mark in UAA play.
Game 1: WashU 7, Emory 2
After two scoreless innings, the Bears scored their first run of the game in the top of the third inning, starting with a lead-off walk from first-year
Emmy May. First-year
Katie Dolin laid down a sacrifice bunt to move May to second and senior
Sydney Schneider singled to left, scoring May for the 1-0 advantage.
Emory tied things up in the bottom of the third. With one out, Ashley Chu singled up the middle and Megan Sutton reached on a fielder's choice. Ellie Zerr tripled to center, scoring Sutton.
The Bears took another lead in the top of the fifth. With one out, first-year
Julia Sullo singled to left and stole second. Schneider doubled up the middle, bringing Sullo home for the 2-1 edge.
WashU scored two more in the top of the sixth, starting with a lead-off walk from junior
Elena Locascio. Senior
Alexa Hanish was hit by a pitch and junior
Kennedy Grippo laid down a sacrifice bunt to put two runners in scoring position. Junior
Julia Nicholus had a sacrifice fly to second, scoring first-year
Ava Peterson, who came on to run for Locascio, and Hanish.
The Bears put up three more runs in the top of the seventh inning. Sullo led off with a single to third and advanced to third on a throwing error by third base. Schneider put down a sacrifice bunt to score Sullo for the first run of the inning. With two outs, junior
Kristina Donaldson drew a walk and Locascio drilled a homer to left field, making it a 7-1 game.
The Eagles scored one more in the bottom of the seventh. With two outs, Shea Johnson and Chu had back-to-back singles to short. Sutton singled to center, scoring Johnson. The Bears ended the game with a putout at home of Chu.
Schneider went 2-for-3 with three RBI and Sullo was 2-for-3 with two runs scored. Locascio finished 1-for-2 with two RBI and one run scored.
Junior pitcher
Maria Brooks picked up her 15
th win of the season, pitching a complete game with seven hits, two earned runs and five strikeouts.
Game 2: Emory 2, WashU 1
The Bears scored first, starting with a lead-off single from Sullo, who then stole second, in the top of the first inning. Schneider put down a sacrifice bunt to move Sullo to third and with two outs, Donaldson singled through the left side to score Sullo and make it a 1-0 game.
The Eagles tied it a 1-1 in the bottom of the second. Zoe Horning led off with a single to second and advanced on an Ella Hoyle ground out. With two outs, Horning stole third and scored on a throwing error.
After multiple scoreless innings, Emory walked it off in the bottom of the seventh inning. Horning led off with a single through the right side and Hoyle reached on a fielder's choice. Radha Samuel came on to run for Hoyle and moved to second as Addison Kwong drew a walk. With one out, Alejandra Wittman singled to right field, scoring Samuel and ending the game.
Sullo went 2-for-3 with one run scored and Donaldson was 1-for-3 with one RBI.
First-year
Jessi Szafoni took the loss, pitching a complete game with six hits, two runs and three strikeouts.
The Bears conclude the series and the regular season at 3 p.m. tomorrow against the Eagles.
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Elevating scholar-champions requires resources beyond the institutional budget. Through the W Club, generous alumni, parents, and friends provide unrestricted support that is essential to the extraordinary WashU student-athlete experience—and the ongoing growth and development of the department. Annual support for Athletics allows the Bears to consistently rise to national levels of competition and ensures that our student-athletes enjoy exceptional opportunities as they train, compete, and lead. To make a gift to the Annual Fund for Athletics, please visit our secure online giving form or contact the Athletics Advancement Office at athletics@wustl.edu.
