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March 7, 2003
CHARLOTTE, N.C. – The University of Virginia softball team snapped a five-game losing streak with an 11-1 five-inning victory over Charlotte in the 49er Invitational Friday (March 7) at the Phillips Complex. First-year second baseman Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) hit her sixth homer of the season to set a new single season record for home runs by a UVa first-year. With the victory, the Cavaliers improve to 7-10 on the season, while Charlotte falls to 7-5.
Larquier hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning, her sixth of the season, to break the old mark of five home runs by current third-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln). Field hit five home runs as a freshman in 2001. Larquier also had a single in the game and drove in three runs. She was one of six Virginia players with two or more hits in the game as the Cavaliers had 15 safeties in the contest.
UVa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Field led off the game with a walk and moved to second on the first of three hits by fourth-year first baseman Ruby Rojas (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei). Field scored on second-year designated player Jenn Wynn’s (Herndon, Va./Herndon) double and Rojas scored on a single by Larquier.
The 49ers cut UVa’s lead in half in the bottom of the first inning when Lynne LaPorte scored on Autumn Lawson’s single. The Cavaliers increased their lead to 3-1 with an unearned run in the third. Larquier reached on an error by the shortstop to open the frame. She advanced to second on a sacrifice and eventually scored on third-year pitcher Joanna Barstad’s (Canby, Ore./Canby) single.
Virginia broke the game wide open with eight runs in the fifth inning. Fourth-year left fielder Johanna Kaiser (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) opened the inning with a single and advanced to second on a sacrifice. Kaiser moved to third on fourth-year center fielder Katie Weinberg’s (Reston, Va./South Lakes) second single of the game and both runners scored on Field’s double to left field. Field moved to third on first-year right fielder Jessica Taylor’s (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) single. Field then scored on a wild pitch with Taylor moving to second. She scored on Rojas’ single to second base, while Rojas moved to third on second-year Lauren Dennis’ (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) groundout to the shortstop. Larquier then hit a two-run homer to left field. Barstad drove in her second and third runs of the game with a single to make the final score 11-1. The game was called after five full innings due to the eight-run rule.
Barstad earned the victory in the circle with a complete-game effort. She allowed one unearned run on five hits in improving her record to 3-3 on the season. Charlotte’s Amy Morse took the loss as she allowed seven runs on 12 hits in 4.1 innings of work.
The Cavaliers continue play in the 49er Invitational with a pair of games Saturday (March 8). UVa plays Liberty at 9:00 a.m. and Wright State at 11:00 a.m. The tournament concludes Sunday.