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Virginia Softball Falls To Georgia Tech 11-2 In ACC Tournament
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May 12, 2006
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. – The University of Virginia softball team was eliminated from the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship with an 11-2 five-inning loss to fourth-seeded Georgia Tech at Anderson Stadium Friday (May 12). The Yellow Jackets scored seven runs in the bottom of the first inning and the sixth-seeded Cavaliers were never able to recover. With the loss, UVa was eliminated from the ACC Championship with a 1-2 record and ends its season at 29-26. Georgia Tech improves to 45-19 and advances to play Florida State Saturday in the semifinals.
Georgia Tech exploded for seven runs on seven hits in the bottom of the first inning. Caitlin Lever staked the Yellow Jackets to a 4-0 lead with a grand slam to right center. Kristina Hull increased Georgia Tech’s lead to 5-0 with a sacrifice fly to right. Blair Shimandle made the score 7-0 with a two-run double to left field.
The Cavaliers got on the scoreboard in the top of the second inning. Second-year left fielder Lindsey Preuss (La Plata, Md.) led off the inning with a single to left and advanced to second on a wild pitch. Third-year designated player Amy McKean (Kent, Wash.) singled down the left field line to move Preuss to third. Preuss then scored on fourth-year Erin Horn’s (Tallahassee, Fla.) sacrifice fly to center to make the score 7-1. Lever put Georgia Tech’s eighth run on the board in second inning with her second homer of the game, a solo shot to center field.
Fourth-year shortstop Sara Larquier (Burbank, Calif.) slammed a homer, her eighth of the season, to left field with one out in the fourth inning to make the score 8-2. It proved to be Larquier’s last career at-bat. The homer was the 35th of Larquier’s career (third all-time in the ACC) and increased Larquier’s career total bases mark to 439, just two shy of the ACC record. She also finishes her career with an ACC record 181 RBI. The Yellow Jackets’ Christina Sheridan answered Larquier’s homer with a three-run shot to left center with two outs in the fifth to make the score 11-2 and invoke the eight-run rule.
Horn suffered the loss in the circle for Virginia and fell to 13-12. She gave up five runs on four hits and one walk without getting an out in the first inning. Third-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga.) pitched the final 4.2 innings and gave up six runs on eight hits with three walks and two strikeouts.
Whitney Humphreys improved to 18-7 with the complete-game win in the circle for Georgia Tech. In five innings, she allowed two runs on five hits with a pair of strikeouts.