Virginia Softball Wins Final Two Games At Panera Bread Challenge
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Feb. 26, 2006
CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – University of Virginia fourth-year Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla.) tossed a no-hitter in the UVa softball team’s 1-0 win over Maine Sunday (Feb. 26) in the Panera Bread Challenge at Frost Stadium. The Cavaliers began the day with a 3-2 victory over East Tennessee State and finished the three-day tournament with a 4-2 record. UVa now stands at 6-2 on the season.
Horn fired her second career no-hitter in the 1-0 win over Maine. Her first no-hitter came against George Washington in a 7-0 win on April 20, 2005. Against the Black Bears, Horn struck out a career-best 16 batters, including 13 consecutive at one point. She struck out the side in the third, fourth and fifth innings. Horn, who issued three walks, had a perfect game through 5.2 innings. Maine put the first two runners on base in the seventh, but Horn got out of the jam by striking out two of the last three batters she faced, including the final hitter with the bases loaded.
The Cavaliers scored the lone run of the game in the sixth inning. With one out, fourth-year center fielder Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) singled through left side of the infield and then stole second base. Taylor moved to third on fourth-year second baseman Sara Larquier’s (Burbank, Calif.) groundout. Third-year first baseman Brooke Sorber (Alexandria, Va.) brought Taylor home with another single through the left side of Maine’s infield.
Balent went the distance for the Black Bears (3-2) and allowed just one run on three hits. She struck out seven batters and walked two.
In its 3-2 win over East Tennessee State, Virginia entered the bottom of the seventh inning tied at 2-2. Horn, who played left field against ETSU, led off the seventh with a walk and moved to second on second-year shortstop Lindsey Preuss’ (La Plata, Md.) sacrifice bunt. With two outs, second-year right fielder Kat Mirras (Montauk, N.Y.) brought Horn home with the game-winning run with a base hit to right field.
East Tennesssee (2-9) got on the scoreboard first with an unearned run in the top of the third inning. The Bucs took advantage of a pair of errors and used a RBI double by Mary Catherine Vercoe to take a 1-0 lead. ETSU’s Jessica Lonsinger made it 2-0 with a home run to left field in the fourth. Virginia came back to score two runs in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game at 2-2. Larquier was hit by a pitch to lead off the fourth inning. She stole second and scored on third-year designated player Amy McKean’s (Kent, Wash.) single up the middle. McKean then raced around the bases when third-year catcher Michelle Salmiery (San Jose, Calif.) laced a double to left field.
First-year Madi Gore (Acworth, Ga.) registered the complete-game victory in the circle. She gave up two runs on three hits with four strikeouts and two walks to improve to 3-0 on the season. Vercoe suffered the loss for ETSU. In 6.2 innings, she allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and one strikeout.
Virginia returns to action Mar. 3-5 when it competes in the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga. UVa opens the tournament on Friday (Mar. 3) with a 3:00 p.m. game vs. Oklahoma State and a 6:00 p.m. contest against St. Joseph’s (Pa.).