MERION STATION, Pa. – The Saint Joseph's softball team jumped out to a 5-0 early lead and made it stand up as the Hawks ultimately topped George Washington, 7-4, at the SJU Softball Field on Sunday.

The Hawks opened a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on a two-run single by Caela Abadie that scored Amanda Kulp and Sarah Ostaszewski.

Following a single to load the bases, Jancarla Herrera drew a walk, scoring Molly Kapala to push the lead to three, while a wild pitch in the next at bat allowed Abadie to score the fourth run of the inning. Taylor Marinelli added the fifth run as she scored from third off a fielding error by the third baseman on a ball hit by Carly Rybinski.

George Washington cut the Hawks' lead to 5-3 in the top of the fifth on a three-run home run by Sierra Lange.

Saint Joseph's got a run back in the bottom of the fifth as Kirstin Cox scored from third on a fielding error by the GW first baseman on a grounder by Rybinski.

The Hawks added an insurance run in the sixth on an RBI single by Abadie that scored Ostaszewski to make it 7-3.

George Washington's Jenna Cone made it 7-4 with a solo homer in the seventh, but that would be as close as the visitors would get.

In the circle, Ashley Ventura tossed 6.1 innings, allowing two earned runs on six hits, while striking out three to improve to 9-9 on the season. Rookie Amanda Herr worked the final two-thirds of an inning to close out the game.

The Hawks will visit Lehigh for a doubleheader on Wednesday before a trip to St. Bonaventure begins on Saturday.