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Virginia Softball Splits Two Games In Hoo's Who Tournament
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March 27, 2004
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team split two games in round-robin play of the Hoo’s Who Tournament Saturday (March 27) at The Park, but still earned the top seed in Sunday’s playoffs. UVa lost to Penn State 3-2, but beat Binghamton 8-2 to secure to top seed in the playoffs. The Cavaliers finished round-robin play with a 3-1 record and now stand at 22-17 on the season.
Virginia will take on the winner of the Seton Hall – Penn State game at noon Sunday for the right to play in the championship game at 2:00 p.m. Seton Hall and Penn State both finished round-robin play with 2-2 records and play at 10:00 a.m. Sunday. N.C. State was also 3-1 in round robin play and will square off against Binghamton (0-4) with the winner advancing to the championship contest. In other Saturday action, N.C. State defeated Seton Hall 4-3 and Binghamton 5-3, while Seton Hall beat Penn State 13-0 in five innings.
In UVa’s 3-2 loss to the Nittany Lions, Penn State took a 1-0 lead in the top of the second inning, but the Cavaliers knotted the game at 1-1 with a run in the third inning. First-year right fielder Jackie Greer (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) led off the inning with a single and scored on second-year center fielder Jessica Taylor’s (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy) triple to left field. The Nittany Lions took a 3-1 lead in the fifth inning on Barbie Pierce’s two-run double. UVa answered with a single run in the bottom of the fifth. Fourth-year shortstop Heather Field (Lincoln, Calif./Lincoln) led off the fifth with a single down the left field line and moved all the way to third on Taylor’s sacrifice bunt. Field then scored on fourth-year first baseman Hannah Owings’ (Issaquah, Wash./Liberty) groundout to first base to make the score 3-2.
Fourth-year Joanna Barstad (Canby, Ore./Canby) took the loss in the circle and fell to 8-7 on the season. In 4.1 innings, Barstad gave up three runs (two earned) on eight hits. She struck out four and walked one. Second-year Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon) pitched the final 2.2 innings and allowed only one hit with four strikeouts and one walk. Penn State’s Shana Riggleman improved her record to 2-0 with the complete game victory. She allowed just two runs on 10 hits with two strikeouts and no walks.
Against Binghamton, the Bearcats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on Nicole Vitello’s two-run homer to center field. The Cavaliers took the lead for good in the second inning when Field smacked a grand slam over the left field fence. The home run was Field’s team-leading sixth of the season. UVa extended its lead to 5-2 when third-year designated player Jenn Wynn (Herndon, Va./Herndon) scored on first-year catcher Michelle Salmiery’s (San Jose, Calif./Westmont) sacrifice fly. Wynn led off the inning with a double and advanced to third on a wild pitch. Taylor put the game out of reach with a two-run single in the fourth.
First-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga./Lassiter) struck out a career-high 10 batters in registering the complete-game victory in the circle. Tolar (6-4) allowed two runs on seven hits with two walks. Michelle Weeks (2-4) was saddled with the loss. In 3.2 innings, she allowed even runs on five hits with four walks and five strikeouts.
In addition to her grand slam, Field had a single and scored a total of three runs. Second-year second baseman Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs) also had two hits against Binghamton. Both players had two hits in the loss to Penn State as well.