Softball Falls to No. 20 New Mexico in 11 Innings

Story Links

March 19, 1999

TAMPA, Fla. – The University of Virginia softball team headed to Tampa, Fla. on its spring break trip to face the #20 New Mexico Lobos at the University of South Florida. New Mexico entered the game on a roll after climbing into the USA Today/NFCA Top 25 rankings, and UVa was looking to snap out of a five-game losing streak.

The Cavaliers knew they were going to have their hands full with the Lobos, but were up to the challenge. Virginia had played several ranked teams very close earlier in the season, and entered the contest with New Mexico with a 1-4 record against teams appearing in this weeks Top 25 poll. UVa split a pair of games with current #23 Texas A&M, winning a one game 1-0 and dropping another contest by the score of 9-3. Virginia lost two nail-biters to current #18 Minnesota (1-0) and #3 Fresno State (4-1), both games went into extra innings (8th inning) before the Cavaliers fell. UVa also dropped a 14-2 decision to #15 Illinois-Chicago.

For the third time this season, UVa took a ranked team into extra innings, and this time, the Cavaliers battled the Lobos in a full-fledged marathon. After ten scoreless innings of play, New Mexico scored two runs in the 11th inning to pull out a 2-0 win. Virginia falls to 1-4 in extra inning games this season.

With the loss, UVa’s record falls to 12-16 overall, 0-2 in the ACC. The Cavaliers have now lost six consecutive games. Virginia a will return to action on Saturday, March 20 when the Cavaliers remain in Tampa to face the #19 South Florida Bulls in a double-header on Saturday, March 20 beginning at 1:00 p.m. The two contests with South Florida will conclude UVas spring break trip.