Virginia Softball Splits Twinbill With Longwood
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April 18, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team snapped a six-game losing streak with a 5-2 win over Longwood in the opening game of a doubleheader at The Park Wednesday (April 18). UVa, however, lost the nightcap 6-2. The Cavaliers now stand at 15-31 on the season, while Longwood is 19-15.
Third-year Whitney Holstun (Escondido, Calif.) led UVa to the 5-2 win in the first contest with a complete-game performance in the circle. Holstun, who improved to 4-3 on the season, gave up two unearned runs on seven hits with a pair of strikeouts. Holstun also threw three scoreless innings in relief in the nightcap.
In the first game, UVa jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning. With two outs, first-year first baseman Kelly Haller (Leesburg, Va.) hit a line drive single to center field and first-year right fielder Nicole Koren (Warminster, Pa.) followed with a single up the middle. A walk to third-year left fielder Lindsey Preuss (La Plata, Md.) loaded the bases for fourth-year center fielder Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.). O’Leary came through with a two-run single up the middle to plate Haller and Koren. Virginia added another run in the third when Preuss led off the inning with a home run to left field.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 4-0 with another run in the fourth inning. Fourth-year second baseman Elea Crockett (Tucson, Ariz.) singled to center field with one out. Crockett was forced out at second on Haller’s fielder’s choice grounder. Third-year Casey Steffan (Long Valley, N.J.), who pinch ran for Haller, stole second base and then scored on Koren’s double to center field. The Cavaliers tacked on another run in the fifth inning to make the score 5-0. O’Leary led off with a double to right center and eventually scored on second-year shortstop Kierstie Cameron’s (Pinon Hills, Calif.) RBI groundout to second base.
Longwood put a pair of unearned runs on the scoreboard in the top of the sixth. Caitlin Hooe reached on an error to lead off the inning and Camille Ketsdever followed with a single through the left side. Both runners scored on Courtney Wilson’s two-out double down the left field line to make the score 5-2.
The Cavaliers pounded out 13 hits in the first game with O’Leary leading the way with a 3-3 effort. She tied her career high with the three hits. Koren, Preuss, Haller, and fourth-year designated player Brooke Sorber (Alexandria, Va.) each had two hits in the opener.
Ashley Forsyth (9-9) took the loss in the circle for Longwood. In two innings, she allowed three runs on six hits with two walks and a strikeout. Rachel Mills pitched the final four innings and gave up two runs on seven hits with two walks and two strikeouts.
The Lancers’ bats came alive in the second game as they collected 13 hits while rolling to a 6-2 win. Longwood scored all six of its runs in the first two innings. After back-to-back hits by Hooe and Ketsdever to open the game, Ryan Washington staked the Lancers to a 3-0 lead with a home run to center field. Longwood added three more runs in the second to take a 6-0 advantage. Ketsdever accounted for the first two runs of the inning with a home run to right field. Courtney Wilson drove in the other run with a single through the right side of the infield.
Virginia got two runs back in the sixth inning to make the score 6-2. Preuss and first-year right fielder Sarah Tacke (Merced, Calif.) hit back-to-back doubles to left center to lead off the inning. Preuss scored on Tacke’s double and Tacke crossed the plate on a RBI groundout by Cameron.
Fourth-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga.) suffered the loss in the circle and fell to 5-10 on the season. She allowed three runs on four hits before being relieved in the first inning. Second-year Karla Wilburn (Del Mar, Calif.) threw a total of four innings and gave up three runs on eight hits with three strikeouts. Holstun held the Lancers to one hit over the final three innings. Holstun walked one and struck out one. Mills went the distance for Longwood to improve to 9-4 on the season. She was charged with two runs on nine hits with two walks and a strikeout.
Fourth-year catcher Michelle Salmiery (San Jose, Calif.) went 3-3 in the contest to tie her career high for hits in a game. Tacke hit a pair of doubles in the nightcap.
The Cavaliers return to action this weekend when they travel to Tallahassee, Fla., for three-game series against Florida State. The two teams will play a doubleheader on Saturday (April 21) at noon, followed by a noon game on Sunday (April 22).