FAIRFAX, Va. – Atlantic 10 Pitcher of the Year Sierra Lange along with some clutch hitting late carried the day for top-seeded George Washington (34-13) in the team's opening contest of the A-10 Softball Championship, as the graduate student tossed a complete game with nine strikeouts and just one earned run as the Colonials held off No. 4 Saint Louis (22-28) down the stretch early Thursday afternoon at the George Mason Softball Complex.

With the victory, the Colonials progress to Friday's early afternoon contest within the winner's bracket, hosting the winner between No. 2 overall Fordham and third-seeded Saint Joseph's at noon ET at the George Mason Softball Complex. Saint Louis, meanwhile, slides into the consolation bracket and will take on No. 5 Dayton in Thursday evening's elimination matchup. Both contests will be broadcast live via ESPN+.

Lange (25-7) proved lethal inside the circle throughout the contest, containing an aggressive Billikens squad to just four total hits on the day – all came across the final three innings – with two walks and one hit-by-pitch. The A-10 Pitcher of the Year was complemented by a solid outing from Saint Louis senior Chloe Wendling, who also posted a complete game with four runs given up on nine hits.

The George Washington offense failed to find much success until the third inning, as a two-out walk combined with back-to-back-to-back singles drove in two runs for the Colonials. The lead held until SLU battled back in the sixth, starting the frame with a reach-on-error before a double and a single evened the matchup at two apiece.

GW quickly responded, opening the frame with consecutive singles along with a sac bunt set up an eventual slice down the left-field line from freshman Maddie Spell, plating the game-winning run. A single from junior Valentina Perrone added an insurance score heading into the final defensive sequence for the Colonials.