Virginia Softball Shuts Out Maryland In ACC Championship
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May 9, 2003
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – The University of Virginia softball team opened the 2003 Atlantic Coast Conference Championship with a 4-0 victory over Maryland Friday (May 9) at the Seminole Softball Complex behind the three-hit pitching of first-year Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon). With the victory, the Cavaliers improve to 35-24 on the season and advance to play host and 10th-ranked Florida State at 7:00 p.m. Maryland falls to 26-17 on the year.
Horn improved to 15-11 by limiting the Terrapins to three hits in picking up her third shutout and 15th complete game of the season. She allowed three walks while striking out eight batters. Horn helped preserve her own shutout with an assist on a Maryland suicide squeeze attempt in the third inning. Second-year catcher Jenn Wynn (Herndon, Va./Herndon) applied the tag on Samantha Sweeney, who tripled to right center, on Nneka Cardoza’s suicide squeeze bunt attempt.
Virginia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With one out, first-year right fielder Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) singled up the middle. Then with two outs, first-year second baseman Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) singled to right field to advance Taylor to second base. Wynn followed with a single to shallow center field with Taylor just beating the throw home for the first run of the game. The Cavaliers extended their lead to 3-0 with a pair of runs in the second inning. Fourth-year left fielder Johanna Kaiser (Scottsdale, Ariz./Saguaro) doubled to left field with one out and scored when Maryland’s center fielder allowed first-year designated player Christina Grimm’s (Los Osos, Calif./Morro Bay) single to bounce away from her. After Grimm was forced out at second on fourth-year center fielder Katie Weinberg’s (Reston, Va./South Lakes) fielder’s choice, third-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) drove in Weinberg with a double to right field to make the score 3-0.
UVa increased its lead to 4-0 with a single tally in the bottom of the fifth. Field led off the inning with her second double of the game and scored on Larquier’s single down the left field line.
The Terrapins’ Monica Cyphert took the loss in the circle. She allowed four runs on 10 hits in falling to 15-9 on the season. Cyphert struck out one batter and didn’t issue a walk.
UVa’s Field, Larquier, Wynn and Kaiser each had two hits in the game. Larquier also drove in her 50th run of the season to move into second place on Virginia’s single season RBI list.