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Virginia Softball Sweeps Doubleheader From Elon
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April 18, 2002
ELON, N.C. – The Virginia softball team posted 8-2 and 7-1 victories in sweeping a doubleheader from Elon College Thursday (April 18) at East Field. Three UVa single season records fell as the Cavaliers improved to 42-17 on the season. Fourth-year All-American Kristen Dennis (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) had four RBI in the first game to increase her single season total to 53 to break her own school record. She also belted her 12th homer and Virginia’s 30th of the season in the first game to establish the individual single season record as well as the team mark for home runs.
Dennis drove in her school record 50th run of the season with a sacrifice fly in the fourth inning of the first game to break her own mark of 49 RBI set last season. In the next inning, Dennis hit her 12th home run of the season, a two-run shot, and the team’s 30th of the year, to break the school records in both categories. Dennis broke her own single season mark of 11 home runs in 2001. The Cavaliers’ swatted 29 homers last season and have increased that school record to 31 in 2002.
In addition to driving in four runs with a pair of hits and a sacrifice fly in UVa’s 8-2 victory in the first game, Dennis also picked up her 22nd win of the season in the circle. She allowed a pair of unearned runs on four hits. Dennis struck out 13 batters to increase her season total to 246 while walking only one batter. Elon’s Amanda Zentner (8-13) took the loss as she allowed eight runs (seven earned) on nine hits. She struck out four and walked two.
Elon (13-28) took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning on Jenny Gustin’s two-run homer to center field. UVa cut the lead in half in the fourth when fifth-year center fielder Kelly McCabe (Maple Glen, Pa./Upper Dublin) tripled and scored on Dennis’ sacrifice fly. The Cavaliers broke the game open with five runs in the fifth inning. Third-year left fielder Johanna Kaiser (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) led off the inning with a double and eventually scored the tying run on first-year right fielder Valerie Sevilla’s (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Rancho Cucamonga) infield single. After second-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) walked, third-year designated player Ruby Rojas (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) cleared the bases with a two-run double. Dennis followed with a two-run homer to center to make the score 6-2. In the seventh inning, Field hit a solo home run and Dennis added a RBI single to close out the scoring.
In UVa’s 7-1 win in the nightcap, fourth-year pitcher Erin Allinder (Norco, Calif./Norco) limited Elon to one run on four hits and struck out two batters. She improved to 6-3 with the victory. Shannon Courtney (0-7) was saddled with the loss. She gave up five runs (three earned) on eight hits in 2.2 innings of work. Megan Borgaard pitched the final 4.1 innings and allowed two unearned runs on five hits.
Virginia scored three runs in the top of the first and added two more in the third. Field led off the game with a single and came around to score on a throwing error by Elon’s catcher on McCabe’s sacrifice bunt. Rojas drove in McCabe with a single and advanced to third on second-year first baseman Hannah Owings’ (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty) double. Rojas scored on second-year catcher Stephanie Calhoun’s (Spring Valley, Calif./Mount Miguel) single to left field. Kaiser led off the third inning with a double and advanced to second on third-year second baseman Jill Bumler (Montclair, Va./Bishop O’Connell) base hit. Kaiser scored on Sevilla’s single to make the score 4-1. Bumler came around to score on Field’s single to center field. Field also drove in Kaiser and Calhoun with a double in the seventh inning to close out the scoring.
Field was three for five with three RBI in the nightcap and had four hits, drove in four runs and scored three times in the two games. Kaiser and Sevilla both had three hits in the twinbill with Kaiser scoring three times.
UVa returns to action on Saturday, April 20 when it travels to College Park, Md. for a 1:00 p.m. Atlantic Coast Conference doubleheader against Maryland.