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Virginia Softball Falls To South Florida 4-2
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Feb. 10, 2007
TAMPA, Fla. – The Virginia softball team suffered its first loss of the season, dropping a 4-2 decision to host and 22nd-ranked South Florida in the Best Western Invitational Saturday afternoon (Feb. 10) at the USF Softball Field. With loss, UVa finishes round robin play with a 2-1 record and is seeded second in the tourney. The Cavaliers continue play in the tournament with a 5:30 p.m. contest Saturday against third-seeded Western Kentucky. With the loss, UVa falls to 2-1 on the season, while South Florida is also 2-1.
South Florida took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. Britta Giddens led off with a double up the middle and scored on Aya Nakajima’s single to right center. The Bulls made it 2-0 on Kit Dunbar’s single up the middle in the third inning. In the fourth frame, Caitlin Schneider led off with a triple in front of a diving Sarah Tacke (Merced, Calif.) and scored on Nakajima’s single to right field to make the score 3-0. USF tacked on another run in the fifth inning on Schneider’s sacrifice fly to right field to make the score 4-0.
The Cavaliers got two runs back in the top of the sixth inning. Fourth-year catcher Michelle Salmiery (San Jose, Calif.) reached on an error by USF’s shortstop. Third-year Casey Steffan (Long Valley, N.J.), who pinch ran for Salmiery, advanced to third on fourth-year second baseman Elea Crockett’s (Tucson, Ariz.) single to right field. Crockett moved to second on the throw. Both Steffan and Crockett scored on fourth-year third baseman Meghan O’Leary’s (Baton Rouge, La.) fielder’s choice grounder to first base. A throwing error on the attempt to get Steffan at the plate also allowed Crockett to score to make the score 4-2. After a walk to first-year first baseman Kelly Haller (Leesburg, Va.), South Florida got out of the jam when fourth-year designated player Amy McKean’s (Kent, Wash.) line drive to third base was turned into a double play.
Second-year Karla Wilburn (Del Mar, Calif.) started in the circle and suffered the loss to fall to 1-1 on the season. In 1.2 innings, Wilburn allowed one run on three hits with one walk and one strikeout. Fourth-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga.) went 2.1 innings and gave up two runs on four hits with two walks and two strikeouts. First-year Nicole Koren (Warminster, Pa.) made her collegiate debut in the circle and gave up one run on two hits with a strikeout and a walk in two innings of work.