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April 22, 2006
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The University of Virginia softball team dropped a pair of Atlantic Coast Conference contests to NC State Saturday (Apr. 22) at The Park in Charlottesville. UVa lost the first game 4-0 and saw its seventh inning rally fall short in a 7-5 setback in the nightcap. With the two losses, the Cavaliers fall to 25-21 overall and 5-11 in the ACC, while NC State improves to 42-17 overall and 12-5 in the conference. The three-game series concludes Sunday (Apr. 23) with a 1:00 p.m. contest at The Park.
In the first game, NC State took advantage of three UVa errors in the third inning to score three unearned runs and went on to a 4-0 victory. The Wolfpack scored their first two runs when Miranda Ervin’s fly ball was dropped in right field, which allowed Shanna Smith and Jen Chamberlin to score. Megan Dalthorp plated the third run with a single down the left field line. NC State added a fourth run in the seventh inning on Ervin’s sacrifice fly that plated Heather Gelbard.
Fourth-year Erin Horn (Tallahassee, Fla.) took the loss in the circle for the Cavaliers. Horn (10-9) allowed four runs (one earned) on eight hits with five strikeouts and no walks. Abbie Sims improved to 20-10 with the complete-game shutout. Sims allowed just three hits while striking out eight and walking one.
In the second game, the Wolfpack scored all seven of their runs in the final three innings and held on for a 7-5 victory. UVa scored all five of its runs in the final two frames and had the tying run at the plate, but a double play ended the game.
NC State tallied three hits and took advantage of a UVa error to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the fifth inning. Allison Cuculich drove in the first run, which was unearned, with a fielder’s choice grounder, and Gelbard drove in a pair of runs with a base hit up the middle. Chamberlin staked NC State to a 4-0 lead with a leadoff home run to center in the sixth. The Wolfpack added an unearned run in the same frame when Jess Willems scored after a UVa error on Sims’ double to left field.
Virginia cut the deficit to 5-2 with a pair of runs in the bottom of the sixth. With one out, third-year second baseman Elea Crockett (Tucson, Ariz.) and fourth-year center fielder Jessica Taylor (Philadelphia, Pa.) hit back-to-back singles. Crockett hustled to third on Taylor’s single to center and a throwing error allowed Crockett to cross home plate. Taylor moved to third on the play and scored on a wild pitch. NC State answered with two runs in the seventh. Chamberlin and Jennifer Patterson drew two-out walks off first-year Madi Gore (Acworth, Ga.) and Sims drove in both runners with a double to left center to make the score 7-2. In the bottom of the seventh, second-year designated player Whitney Holstun (Escondido, Calif.) and third-year third baseman Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) led off with back-to-back singles. Fourth-year Jackie Greer (Portage, Mich./Portage Northern) pinch ran for Holstun and scored on Crockett’s single to left center. Crockett moved to second on the throw to the plate and she and O’Leary scored on second-year left fielder Lindsey Preuss’ (La Plata, Md.) one-out two-run single down the left field line that made the score 7-5. NC State secured the victory with a double play on fourth-year shortstop Sara Larquier’s (Burbank, Calif.) hard grounder to second.
Third-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga.) suffered the loss in the circle to fall to 4-3 on the season. In 4.1 innings, she allowed three runs (two earned) on four hits with one strikeout. Second-year Karla Wilburn (Del Mar. Calif.) went two-thirds of an inning and gave up two runs (one earned) on two hits. Gore pitched the final two innings and allowed two runs on three hits with four walks and two strikeouts. Shaina Ervin pitched 5.1 innings to improve to 15-3 for the Wolfpack. She gave up two runs on four hits with four strikeouts and two walks. Megan Dalthorp registered her second save of the season with 1.2 innings of relief. Dalthorp allowed three runs on four hits with one strikeout.
Taylor had three hits in the twinbill for UVa, while Crockett had two hits, two runs and a RBI. Preuss had two hits and two RBI, while O’Leary had a pair of safeties and scored a run. Sims led NC State with five hits and two RBI and earned the victory in game one. Chamberlin had four hits and scored three runs in the doubleheader.