Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

SOFTBALL | Hoyas Pick Up First Big East Win

After nine tries, Georgetown’s softball team (17-26, 2-9 Big East) finally won its first Big East game Saturday afternoon against St. John’s. After notching their first league win, the Hoyas got another in the second game of the doubleheader Saturday but couldn’t complete the sweep Sunday.

Freshman pitcher Lauren O’Leary’s outstanding seven-inning performance in the first game — she struck out eight and only allowed one earned run — kept the Hoyas alive despite a weak offensive showing.

The Hoyas scored first thanks to a string of mishaps from the Red Storm. With the bases loaded, sophomore second baseman Hannah Slovacek earned the RBI on a fielder’s choice that allowed junior catcher Shikara Lowe to score.

And more errors by St. John’s ended up sealing the Georgetown victory. Two wild pitches and a sacrifice fly led to Georgetown’s winning run. Sophomore center fielder Elyse Graziano had the only hit for the Hoyas. Overall, Red Storm out-hit the Hoyas, 6-1, but pushed only one run across the plate in the 2-1 loss.

The Blue and Gray had a much more solid outing all-around in game two. Freshman Megan Hysonturned in a stellar pitching performance and a strong offensive effort earned the Hoyas their second conference win. Hyson allowed one run and struck out five in seven innings.

“Lauren and Megan have made a tremendous impact on the team,” Head Coach Pat Conlan said. “I like our chances when they are on the mound.”

Although they trailed in the bottom of the second, Georgetown again benefited from St. John’s weaknesses, with a multitude of walks and throwing errors leading to three unearned runs for theHoyas in a big fifth inning.

“This weekend was a must-win situation for keeping our Big East tournament hopes alive,” Conlan said. “I can only believe that would help their confidence moving forward.”

Despite the Blue and Gray’s dominance of the second game, a seventh-inning comeback Sunday let the Red Storm earn one win in the series.

Georgetown scored in the top of the first after Hyson’s double and a sacrifice bunt from sophomore left fielder Taylor Koenig set up an RBI single from Lowe. But after five uneventful innings, a Georgetown error, a wild pitch and four hits gave the Red Storm two runs to end the game.

Still, the trip to New York did provide some proof that the Hoyas are capable of winning in conference, albeit against the Big East’s worst team.

“I thought the team played very well this weekend,” Conlan said. “We had good pitching [and] solid defense, and when we do that we are hard to beat.”

Next up for Georgetown is a makeup game Thursday against Towson. First pitch is set for 4 p.m. in Towson, Md.

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