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April 20, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team hosts NC State in a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at The Park. The three-game series marks the final home contests for UVa fourth-year captains Jackie Greer (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern), Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla./Leon), Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif./John Burroughs), and Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa./Germantown Academy). The series is scheduled to start with a doubleheader on Saturday (Apr. 22) at 1:00 p.m., followed by a single game at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday (Apr. 23). The fourth-years will be honored on Sunday.
The Cavaliers enter the weekend series with a 25-19 overall record and a 5-9 mark in the ACC. Virginia is coming off a doubleheader split with Longwood on Tuesday (Apr. 18) in Farmville, Va. UVa lost the first game 8-0 in five innings, but bounced back with a 5-4 eight-inning win in the second game. Last weekend, Virginia took two of three games from Maryland in College Park, Md.
NC State is 40-17 overall and 10-5 in the ACC. The Wolfpack is tied for second in the ACC standings with Georgia Tech. It its last action, NC State swept a doubleheader from Elon 8-1 and 2-0 on Wednesday (Apr. 19). The Wolfpack took two of three games from Florida State last weekend in Tallahassee.
Virginia leads the all-time series with NC State 5-3 with five of the eight games decided by one run. The two teams met earlier this season with the Wolfpack taking an 8-7 decision (Mar. 5) in the semifinals of the Buzz Classic in Marietta, Ga. In 2005, UVa won two of three meetings in Raleigh, winning 7-6 and 8-0 before falling 5-3 in the final game. In 2004, the first season of NC State’s softball program, the Cavaliers won three of four meetings with the Wolfpack. UVa’s only loss to NC State in 2004 was a 3-2 setback in the championship game of the `Hoos Who Tournament on Mar. 28. Virginia won the initial meeting between the two teams 5-4 on Mar. 26 (also in the `Hoos Who Tournament). UVa swept an ACC doubleheader from NC State 5-4 and 6-2 (Apr. 24) at The Park as well.