Virginia Softball Earns Split With Virginia Tech
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March 18, 2006
BLACKSBURG, Va. – After dropping the first game of its Atlantic Coast Conference doubleheader to Virginia Tech 4-1 Saturday (Mar. 18), the Virginia softball team came back from a 2-0 deficit in the nightcap to post a 4-3 victory over the Hokies and earn a split in the twinbill at the Tech Softball Park. The three-game series will be decided Sunday (Mar. 19) as the two teams meet at 1:00 p.m. with the winner earning a point for their school in the Commonwealth Challenge, presented by Adelphia. The Cavaliers now stand at 14-8 overall and 1-1 in the ACC, while Virginia Tech is 18-7 overall and 1-1 in the conference.
In the 4-1 loss in the first game, the Cavaliers broke a scoreless tie with an unearned run in the top of the third. Third-year right fielder Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) led off the inning with a walk. She stole second base on fourth-year center fielder Jessica Taylor’s (Philadelphia, Pa.) strikeout. The throw to second went into center field and O’Leary scored from second on the error.
Virginia Tech’s Alisia Narodowski led off the bottom of the third with a double down the left field line. Callie Rhodes followed with a single and then with one out Tech loaded the bases on Kelly Brown’s bloop single to center. Narodowski scored from third base on a wild pitch to knot the game at 1-1. With the bases loaded, Beth Walker hit a three-run double to the gap in left center to give the Hokies a 4-1 lead.
Second-year Karla Wilburn (Del Mar, Calif.) fell to 4-4 on the season with the loss in the circle. She pitched 5.1 innings and allowed four runs on eight hits with two strikeouts and three walks. First-year Madi Gore (Acworth, Ga.) pitched the final two-thirds of an inning and allowed one hit. Angela Tincher fired a no-hitter for the Hokies while improving to 9-2 on the season. She struck out 18 batters and walked seven while allowing one unearned run.
The Cavaliers rebounded from the loss in game one with a 4-3 win in the nightcap to earn a split. The Hokies took advantage of a two-out UVa error, a wild pitch and three walks to take a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. Virginia answered with three runs in the top of the fourth to take a 3-2 lead. Third-year catcher Amy McKean (Kent, Wash.) led off the inning with a double to left center. With two outs, second-year shortstop Lindsey Preuss (La Plata, Md.) drew a walk and second-year Kat Mirras (Montauk, N.Y.), who was pinch running for McKean, moved to third on wild pitch on ball four. Mirras scored on fourth-year pitcher Erin Horn’s (Tallahassee, Fla.) line drive single to left field. Third-year Brooke Sorber (Alexandria, Va.) came through with a two-run pinch hit double to left field to bring home Preuss and Horn and give UVa a 3-2 lead.
UVa increased its lead to 4-2 with an unearned run in the sixth. Third-year catcher Michelle Salmiery (San Jose, Calif.) led off with a single up the middle. Fourth-year Jackie Greer (Portage, Mich.) pinch ran for Salmiery and moved to second on a throwing error by Virginia Tech pitcher Katie Maynard on Horn’s fielder’s choice grounder. Greer scored on Sorber’s single up the middle. It was Sorber’s third RBI of the game. Virginia Tech cut UVa’s lead to 4-3 with a run in the sixth. Walker led off with a walk and pinch runner Jenna Rhodes then scored on a double by pinch hitter Kelsy Rokey.
Horn picked up the complete-game victory in the circle for the Cavaliers. She allowed three runs (one earned) on four hits while improving t 5-2 on the season. Horn struck out seven and walked five. Maynard (9-5) suffered the loss in the circle. She pitched six innings and allowed four runs (three earned) on five hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Tincher pitched the seventh inning and struck out a pair of batters while issuing one walk.