Virginia Softball Drops Heart-breaker To Georgia Tech
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April 28, 2007
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Georgia Tech scored four runs in the top of the seventh inning to erase a 9-7 deficit and held on for an 11-10 victory over the Virginia softball team Saturday afternoon (April 28) at The Park. With the loss, UVa falls to 17-37 overall and finishes regular season Atlantic Coast Conference play with a 1-20 mark. The Yellow Jackets, who have won 15 consecutive games, improve to 49-13 overall and 14-6 in the conference.
The Cavaliers held a 9-7 lead going into the seventh inning, but a two-run homer by Kristina Hull of the top of the fence in left tied the game at 9-9. With one out, Aileen Morales doubled down the left field line to score Blair Shimandle to put Georgia Tech ahead 10-9. Whitney Haller’s single to right center plated Morales with what proved to be the game-winning run.
Virginia added a run in the bottom of the seventh to pull within one and left the tying run on second base. First-year right fielder Sarah Tacke (Merced, Calif.), who was 3-for-3 in the game, led off the final inning with a single to right field. First-year Abby Snyder (Cantonment, Fla.) pinch ran for Tacke and moved to second on third-year center fielder Lindsey Preuss’ (La Plata, Md.) single up the middle. After a strikeout, second-year shortstop Kierstie Cameron (Pinon Hills, Calif.) was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Fourth-year catcher Michelle Salmiery (San Jose, Calif.) plated Snyder from third with a sacrifice fly to center field to pull UVa within a run, 11-10. The Yellow Jackets were able to get fourth-year left fielder Brooke Sorber (Alexandria, Va.) to ground out to short to end the game.
Georgia Tech took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. With one out, Jennifer Yee and Whitney Haller hit back-to-back singles and then with two outs Caitlin Lever brought Yee home with a double to left center. UVa answered with four runs in the bottom of the first. Sorber led off with a walk and then with two outs, first-year Nicole Koren (Warminster, Pa.) was hit by a pitch. Tacke brought Sorber home with a single through the right side of the infield and Preuss drew a walk to load the bases. Fourth-year third baseman Meghan O’Leary (Baton Rouge, La.) then drew a walk to force in Koren with UVa’s second run. Cameron followed with a two-run double to left center to stake the Cavaliers to a 4-1 lead. O’Leary was thrown out at home while trying to score from first on the hit.
A two-run homer by Morales in the second pulled Georgia Tech within a run, 4-3. Tacke drew a walk with one out in the third and eventually scored on a wild pitch to make the score 5-3. The Jackets responded with four runs in the fourth to go ahead 7-5. Haller hit a three-run homer to left and Lever added a solo shot to right center. Virginia answered with a run in the home half of the fourth to trim the deficit to 7-6. O’Leary walked to lead off the frame and scored with two outs when fourth-year second baseman Elea Crockett’s (Tucson, Ariz.) ground ball to second was misplayed for an error.
The Cavaliers went ahead 9-7 with a three-run fifth inning. Koren drew a walk to lead off the frame and then Tacke slammed a towering home run to right center. Preuss and O’Leary followed with back-to-back singles with Preuss stealing second before O’Leary’s infield single. O’Leary then stole second and a wild pitch allowed Preuss to score and O’Leary move up to third. Georgia Tech was able to tag out O’Leary on a fielder’s choice grounder for the second out of the inning. Sorber’s hard line drive to third with a runner at second ended the Cavaliers’ fifth inning.
Fourth-year Coty Tolar (Marietta, Ga.) was saddled with the loss for UVa to fall to 5-13 on the season. Tolar started the contest and then re-entered the game in the fifth inning. In 4.1 innings, she was charged with seven runs on 10 hits with four strikeouts and one walk. Koren made two appearances in the circle as well and went 2.2 innings and allowed four runs (two earned) on six hits. Sarah Wood garnered the victory for Georgia Tech with three innings of relief work to improve to 10-1 on the season. She allowed one run on four hits with one strikeout. Tiffany Johnson started in the circle for the Yellow Jackets and allowed five runs on four hits with four walks in three innings of work. Whitney Humphreys pitched the fourth inning and into the fifth while allowing four runs (three earned) on three hits. She walked two batters and struck out one.
Tacke was 3-for-3 in the contest, including her third homer of the season, and had three RBI and scored three runs. Preuss and Sorber both had a pair of hits for the Cavaliers. O’Leary had one hit and drew a pair of walks.
The two teams combined for 28 hits with Georgia Tech tallying 17, including four home runs.
Virginia is next in action at the ACC Tournament May 10-13 in Tallahassee, Fla. Seedings for the tournament will be announced following the conclusion of conference play next weekend.