Virginia Falls to Cal Poly-SLO and UC-Santa Barbara

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March 2, 1999

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – The University of Virginia softball team began competition in day two of the 1999 UCSB Easton Invitational Tournament. The tournament is being hosted by the University of California at Santa Barbara and is being held at the UCSB Campus Diamond.

UVa opened play in the tournament by dropping a 9-3 decision to Texas A&M before falling 7-4 to host UC-Santa Barbara. The Cavaliers looked to break out of a four-game losing streak with their meeting against Cal Poly-SLO. Virginia jumped out to an early 3-2 lead before a throwing error by shortstop Lori Reese allowed two runs to score for Cal Poly-SLO. The Mustangs held on for a 4-3 victory.

In UVa’s second game of the day, Virginia played host UC-Santa Barbara for the third time in three days and sought revenge for two earlier losses the Gauchos handed to the Cavaliers. UVa fell behind 2-0 and fought back to knot the score at 2-2, before UCSB reeled of three unanswered runs to claim a 5-2 victory. The win also gave the Gauchos a three game sweep over the Cavaliers in the tournament.

After starting the season off with a 3-0 record and a 4-2 mark after participating in the UNC Triangular Classic Tournament, Virginia has now lost seven of its last eight games, including its last six consecutive contests.

With the two losses, Virginia’s record falls to 4-7 overall, 0-4 in the UCSB Easton Invitational Tournament. UVa will compete in the final day of the tournament on Sunday, Feb. 28th by playing Cal Poly-SLO at 9:00 a.m. (PT) and Texas A&M at 11:00 a.m. (PT). Virginia is 0-1 against both opponents in the tournament. The Cavaliers will then return home to Charlottesville, Va. to play their home opener against Eastern Michigan on Wednesday, March 3rd at 2:00 p.m. The contest is a doubleheader and will be held at The Park.