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April 23, 2003
HARRISONBURG, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team pounded out 20 hits and scored 20 runs in registering 8-3 and 12-3 victories over James Madison Wednesday (April 23) at the JMU Softball Complex. With the two victories, the Cavaliers improve their winning streak to five games and now stand at 33-20 on the season. The Dukes fall to 18-26 with the two losses.
Third-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) drove in five runs with three hits, including a three-run homer, and scored three runs in the doubleheader. Fourth-year third baseman Ruby Rojas (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) had four hits, including a double and a triple, drove in three runs and scored three times. First-year designated player Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) had three hits, a double and a triple among them, three RBI and scored a pair of runs.
In the first game, Rojas and Larquier combined for five hits and five RBI in the Cavaliers’ 8-3 victory. Rojas was 3-4 with three runs scored and two RBI, while Larquier was 2-4 with three RBI. First-year pitcher Christina Grimm’s (Los Osos, Calif./Morro Bay) picked up the win in the circle with a complete-game effort. She allowed three runs (two earned) on eight hits and struck out three while walking one in improving to 13-5 on the season. Leah Conley (5-13) took the loss in the circle for JMU. She gave up eight runs on 10 hits in 5.1 innings.
The Cavaliers struck for a pair of runs in the first inning as Field led off the game with a walk and advanced all the way to third on Rojas’ bunt single with Rojas taking second on the play. Field scored on Larquier’s groundout to second base and second-year catcher Jenn Wynn (Herndon, Va./Herndon) plated Rojas with a single. James Madison cut UVa’s lead in half in the second inning on Katie Jaworski’s home run. Virginia answered with a run in the third to take a 3-1 edge. With two outs, Rojas hit a single to right and scored on Larquier’s RBI triple to right. The Dukes trimmed UVa’s lead to 3-2 in the third as they strung together three consecutive singles and then Kara Schwind scored on Briana Carrera’s groundout to second. UVa extended its lead to 6-2 with three runs in the fifth. Rojas hit a two-run triple that scored second-year Lauren Dennis (Encinitas, Calif./La Costa Canyon) and first-year Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy), who both reached base via base hits. Larquier drove in Rojas with a double down the right field line. After JMU scored once in the fifth, Virginia added two more runs in the sixth as Field plated fourth-year left fielder Johanna Kaiser (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) and Dennis with a double.
The Cavaliers won the second game 12-3 with all 12 runs being of the unearned variety. James Madison took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on Ashlee Schenk’s RBI single that scored Tricia Berryman. The Cavaliers grabbed the lead for good with six unearned runs in the fourth inning. With one out, Larquier laced a double off the fence in center field and came around to score on a throwing error by JMU’s second baseman. Kaiser and fourth-year catcher Brit Gore (Vienna, Va./James Madison) then added RBI singles and Field provided the big hit with a three-run homer to left field that made the score 6-1. The Dukes cut UVa’s lead to 6-3 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the fourth inning. The Cavaliers capitalized on three James Madison errors to score three more unearned runs in the fifth inning to take a 9-3 advantage. Third-year third baseman Tracy Sherman (San Clemente, Calif./St. Margaret’s Episcopal) had UVa’s only hit in the inning, which drove in Larquier. Sherman and third-year first baseman Hannah Owings (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty) also scored in the frame. The Cavaliers closed out the scoring with three more unearned runs in the seventh. With two outs, second-year right fielder M.K. White (Vienna, Va./James Madison) recorded her second hit of the game and Field walked. Both runners scored when JMU’s third baseman committed a throwing error on fourth-year center fielder Katie Weinberg’s (Reston, Va./South Lakes) grounder. Weinberg advanced to third on the play and scored on Rojas’ single that extended her hitting streak to nine games.
Third-year pitcher Joanna Barstad (Canby, Ore./Canby) improved to 7-5 with the victory in the circle. She allowed three runs on nine hits and struck out four batters without issuing a walk. James Madison reliever Krista Brotemarkle (1-1) was saddled with the loss. She gave up six unearned runs on five hits in one inning of work.
The Cavaliers return to action on Saturday, April 26 when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla. for a 1:00 p.m. doubleheader against 13th-ranked Florida State.