March 24, 2005
Box Score
Washington, D.C. - The Marist softball team improved to 5-9 on the season with a 12-2, 5-4 sweep of host George Washington in a doubleheader today. The Red Foxes swept a twinbill for the first time since beating Niagara twice on May 3, 2003.
Marist got off to a quick 1-0 lead in the opener as senior co-captain CF Allison Bartley drove in 3B Chrystine McHugh with a single to left field. In the top of the fourth, Bartley singled and came home when sophomore RF Lyndsay Ward crushed a Katie Miller pitch over the right field wall for her second career home run, first of the season.
Ahead 3-1 after four full innings, the Red Foxes would salt the game away with three runs in the top of the fifth. McHugh led off with a double and was singled home by freshman 1B Annie Castellano, who in turn would score on C Jasmery Polanco's double. Later that inning, Bartley would score on a wild pitch to give Marist a 6-1 lead.
The Red Foxes would go on to plate six more runs, including two-run doubles from Polanco in the sixth and junior SS Katie Eskin in the 7th. McHugh and sophomore LF Christine Jakobsen also drove in runs in the seventh inning.
Freshman Megan Rigos, who threw a shutout against George Mason yesterday, tossed another outstanding complete game; surrendering two runs on just two hits while striking out five.
Marist, finding itself down 1-0 in the nightcap after two innings, took a 2-1 lead in the top of the third when Castellano hit a sacrifice fly that plated McHugh. Earlier in the inning, Jakobsen singled and scored on 2B Lisa Cohen's throwing error. Jakobsen has now hit safely in six consecutive games.
After the Colonials tied it up in the bottom of the third, the Red Foxes went ahead for good in the fourth as a pair of errors by George Washington SS Elana Meyers allowed Ward to reach base and score. Marist would add key insurance runs on Castellano's second RBI sacrifice fly in the fifth and freshman starter Kristen Merlino's RBI single in the sixth.
George Washington (5-15) made a valiant comeback in the bottom of the sixth as CF Jackie Yaniga stroked an RBI double, immediately followed by 3B Caroline Howe's run-scoring single, bringing the hosts within 5-4. That would be as close as they would get as Rigos, who came on in relief of Merlino, slammed the door on the sweep.
Merlino (1-2, 1.93 ERA) threw five-plus innings, allowing three runs on six hits, to earn her first career victory. Rigos picked up her first career save and Marist's first save this season. McHugh extended her consecutive-game hitting streak to seven.
Marist returns to campus to open the home portion of its schedule Wednesday, March 30 against Fordham in a doubleheader. First pitch is scheduled for 2 p.m.
