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Feb. 29, 2004
HOUSTON, Texas – The University of Virginia softball team lost a pair of games Sunday (February 29) in the final day of competition in the Hyatt Regency Cougar Classic. The Cavaliers lost to Mississippi State 5-0 and then fell to Villanova 3-2. UVa completed the tournament with a 2-3 record and now stands at 9-5 on the season.
The Cavaliers fell to Mississippi State 5-0 as Melissa Massey limited UVa to five hits in registering the shutout. She struck out three Cavaliers and did not issue a walk. Mississippi State (16-6) scored all five of its runs in the first four innings of the contest. The Bulldogs scored once in the first, third and fourth innings and twice in the second.
Second-year pitcher Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon) took the loss in the circle, falling to 4-3 on the season. Horn gave up four runs on six hits and walked two in two innings of work. Fourth-year Joanna Barstad (Canby, Ore./Canby) allowed one unearned run on three hits while working the final four innings.
Second-year third baseman Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) led UVa with a pair of hits.
Virginia closed out the tournament with a 3-2 loss to Villanova Sunday afternoon. UVa took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Fourth-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) led off the inning with a single and came around to score on a base it by Larquier.
After Villanova tied the game at 1-1 in the top of the fourth, the Cavaliers regained the lead with a run in the fifth. First-year designated player Amy McKean (Kent, Wash./Kentlake) singled to lead off the bottom of the fifth and advanced to second on a sacrifice by second-year right fielder Jackie Greer (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern). McKean then scored on first-year second baseman Elea Crockett’s (Tucson, Ariz./University) double to center field.
The Wildcats came back to score a pair of unearned runs in the top of the seventh to erase a 2-1 deficit and pull ahead 3-2. Villanova had only one hit while scoring the two runs in the seventh, but capitalized on a pair of UVa errors and a batter hit by a pitch.
First-year pitcher Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter) took the loss in the circle and fell to 2-2 on the season. She allowed three runs (only one earned) on five hits with two walks and three strikeouts in a complete-game effort.
The Cavaliers return to action Saturday, March 6 when they begin a nine-day West Coast road trip with a doubleheader at Sacramento State. The first game is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m.