During a windy weekend for softball at The Park, the Virginia Cavaliers were able to hold their own against the No. 19 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, splitting the two-game series with their ACC foe. However, the Cavaliers may have done a lot betterif it were not for Yellow Jacket senior pitcher Jessica Sallinger.
Sallinger has been a big reason behind the Yellow Jackets' success, collecting 18 of the team's 34 victories on the year. In the first game of the two-game series, Sallinger held the Cavaliers to just two hits. Sallinger, however, did not start in the second game, and Virginia busted out for 12 hits, the most given up by Georgia Tech this year. The result of the Sallinger split: a 3-0 loss to Georgia Tech in the first game, followed by a 6-4 victory in the second.
"Sallinger is one of the best pitchers in the nation," Virginia coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "They're No. 19 because of her. We didn't hit her that well, but it was great to see her."
Junior Erin Horn got the victory in the circle for the Cavaliers in the second game, boosting her record to 5-4 on the year. After tiring in the sixth inning, however, Horn was relieved by sophomore Coty Tolar, who kept a surging Georgia Tech team from coming from behind.
"Coty was awesome -- she was very competitive, very hungry," Sprangel said. "You could see the fire in her when she was on the mound. She's really stepped up so far this year, she's really leading the team. Now Erin is doing the job too, stepping up. The combination of them is starting to work."
The second factor in the second-game win was the Virginia bats, which came alive in the third inning.
After Horn gave up two runs in the top of the third, the Cavaliers responded by tallying up four runs on five hits in the bottom of the inning.
Sophomore Elea Crockett started things off by slapping a single down the third baseline. After Crocket stole second, senior Jenn Wynn popped a single to right field that scored Crockett. Following a single by sophomore Kierstie Cameron, sophomore Amy McKean blasted a double to left center field that scored two. The fun didn't stop there, as sophomore Whitney Holstun then nailed a double to right center that scored McKean. All in all, the Cavaliers moved ahead with a 4-2 lead.
Holstun particularly came through for Virginia, as Sunday's start at first base was her first start in the infield this year.
"I knew this was the chance I was getting to prove myself," Holstun said. "I did, I think."
In the fourth, the Cavaliers got two more runs, pushing their lead to 6-2. With two outs, junior Sara Larquier sent a high fly ball that drifted just inside the right field line. The result: a stand-up triple that scored junior Jessica Taylor. Larquier then scored on a wild pitch to give Virginia the four-run lead.
The Yellow Jackets wouldn't buzz away, however. In the sixth, Tolar replaced Horn to keep a lid on Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets were able to get two runs in before Tolar got three ground outs to end the inning.
Despite the series split, Sprangel said she believes Virginia proved it was capable of hanging tough with the top team in the ACC.
"To walk away .500 against Georgia Tech, that's going to help us a lot," Sprangel said.
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