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April 5, 2003
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team opened Atlantic Coast Conference play by splitting a doubleheader with Georgia Tech Saturday (April 5) at The Park. First-year Christina Grimm (Los Osos, Calif./Morro Bay) tossed a four-hitter in leading UVa to a 6-1 win in the first game, but the Yellow Jackets earned a split with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap. The Cavaliers now stand at 26-17 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, while Georgia Tech is 27-16 and 1-1 in the conference.
In UVa’s 6-1 win in the first game, Grimm held Georgia Tech to four hits in improving to 9-4 on the season. She struck out six batters and walked only one in a complete-game effort. Grimm held the Yellow Jackets hitless for the first 4.1 innings. Tiffany Goodman (2-2) took the loss in the circle for Georgia Tech. In three innings, she allowed one run on three hits, while Erin Voeltz gave up five runs on five hits in three innings of relief work.
The Cavaliers took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning when third-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) led off with a solo home run to center field. It was Field’s fourth round-tripper of the season. UVa extended its lead to 4-0 with three runs in the third inning. Fourth-year third baseman Ruby Rojas (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) walked to lead off the third and moved to second on first-year second baseman Sara Larquier’s (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) sacrifice bunt. Rojas scored on second-year catcher Jenn Wynn’s (Herndon, Va./Herndon) 10th double of the season. Fourth-year Katie Weinberg (Reston, Va./South Lakes) came in to pinch run for Wynn and moved to third on a sacrifice bunt by third-year first baseman Hannah Owings (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty). After a walk to third-year designated player Tracy Sherman (San Clemente, Calif./St. Margaret’s Episcopal), Weinberg and Sherman pulled off a double steal with Weinberg crossing the plate and Sherman moving to second. Grimm helped her own cause with a double to right center that scored Sherman to make the score 4-0. Virginia added two more runs in the fourth inning to take a 6-0 lead. Wynn drove in first-year center fielder Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) with a single down the left field line and Rojas scored on a double to center field by Owings.
Grimm lost her no-hit bid with one out in the fifth inning when Sara Wissmann doubled to left center. The Yellow Jackets got on the scoreboard in the sixth when Felicia Coursey led off the inning with a double and scored on Tara Knudsen’s double.
The Yellow Jackets earned a split in the twinbill with a 2-0 victory in the nightcap. Jessica Sallinger tossed a four-hit shutout and struck out nine batters while improving to 15-10 on the season. First-year Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon) pitched well in defeat as she allowed two runs (one earned) on five hits. Horn struck out seven and walked five while falling to 12-8 on the season.
After four scoreless innings, Georgia Tech got on the scoreboard with an unearned run in the top of the fifth. Tech made it 2-0 when Wissmann scored on Tasha Waugh’s single to left field in the sixth.
Virginia returns to action on Wednesday (April 9) when it travels to Blacksburg, Va. for a 3:00 p.m. doubleheader against state rival Virginia Tech.