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Feb. 12, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team opens its 2004 season by playing a pair of games Friday (February 13) at the 21-team, three-day Triangle Classic at Walnut Creek Park in Raleigh, N.C. The Cavaliers’ first game is against Liberty at 11:00 a.m. Friday. UVa will also play East Carolina at 1:00 p.m. the same day. Bracket play will begin Saturday (February 14) and conclude on Sunday (February 15).
The Cavaliers, under the direction of seventh-year head coach Cheryl Sprangel, concluded the 2003 season with a 37-26 overall record and a 3-5 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. UVa advanced to the championship game of the ACC Tournament for the fourth time in the last six years. In the 2004 ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, Virginia has been picked in a three-way tie for second place.
Virginia returns nine letterwinners, including six starters, from last year’s team. The Cavaliers return three fourth-years, including co-captains Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) and Hannah Owings (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty) at shortstop and first base, respectively, as well as classmate Joanna Barstad (Canby, Ore./Canby) at pitcher. UVa also welcomes back second-year All-ACC performer Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) at second base.
Larquier led the Cavaliers with a .350 batting average in 2003. She hit a team-high 12 home runs and also led Virginia with 51 RBI, 118 total bases and a .645 slugging percentage. Field hit .339 and tied Larquier for team-high honors with 64 hits. Field led the team with 35 walks and scored 44 runs while stealing 18 bases.