April 29, 1997

Softball Earns 4-2 Record in Annual Cavalier Classic

Overall Record: 17-16
South Atlantic Softball Alliance record: 8-4
Atlantic Coast Conference record: 6-2 (second place) 

Results (week ending April 207)
Date    Opponent            Site                    W/L Score   Pitcher of Record
4/25    UNC-Charlotte (G1)  Charlottesville, Va.    W   2-0     Zagol (7-6)
4/25    UNC-Charlotte (G2)  Charlottesville, Va.    W   4-2     Quinn (5-4)
4/26    UNC-Greensboro (CC) Charlottesville, Va.    L   1-0     Quinn (5-5)
4/26    Liberty (CC)        Charlottesville, Va.    W   2-0     Zagol (8-6)
4/26    East Carolina (CC)  Charlottesville, Va.    L   3-2     Zagol (8-7)
4/27    East Carolina       Charlottesville, Va.    W   8-5     Zagol (9-7)             

(G1) Game 1; (G2) Game 2; (CC) Cavalier Classic game

Cavalier Classic
Mother nature must not have been informed that Virginia held their annual Cavalier Classic this past Saturday (April 26) because the skies were blue and the sun was out. East Carolina, Liberty, and UNC-Greensboro all packed their Big South conference bags and came to Charlottesville to take advantage of the fantastic weather. East Carolina adapted best to the conditions, as they stormed through their first two games with wins over Liberty (8-0) and UNC-Greensboro (5-1). Virginia bounced back after losing a heartbreaker in their opener to Greensboro (1-0) to stop Liberty 2-0. That set up a ECU-UVa clash in the final game of the tournament. Virginia needed a win to claim the title, while ECU would take those honors with an undefeated record if they could stop the Cavaliers, who at that point were 7-1 at The Park. Virginia jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning, but the Pirates scored three straight to take a 3-1 lead. Virginia closed the gap to 3-2 in the fifth courtesy of a Stacy Holmes RBI-single. But the Pirates held on to win the game and the 1997 Cavalier Classic with a 3-0 record.

Virginia did get a bit of revenge the following day as East Carolina stayed in Charlottesville to play a Sunday afternoon doubleheader. However, the game was played in a steady rain and the second game of the twin-bill had to be canceled. But Virginia's bats seemed to adjust well to the dank conditions. Beth Crimi hit a three-run homer in the first inning to give UVa a 3-0 lead. Stacy Holmes provided a two-run triple in the fifth inning to give Virginia a two-run lead as the Cavs held on for the 8-5 win. The victory secured a winning season for Virginia, their ninth such season in the past 10 years. Optimism is abound for the softball program as every player is slated to return, including the freshman pitching staff (soon to be sophomore pitching staff) which accounted for every out recorded this season.

Wahoo Knew?
Stacy Holmes was named to the 1997 All-ACC Softball Team. She was the lone 2B and Cavalier named to the squad. Holmes led UVa in triples, homers, and RBI this season ... Amy Peay led the Cavaliers with three (3) three-hit games ... Beth Crimi led the squad with nine multi-hit games (including four in her final five games) ... Holmes enters next season just one hit shy of reaching 50 for her career ... RHP Kristi Fox gave it her all the final two weeks of the season as she pitched her way through back pain. She started four games in the final weeks, but lasted an average of just 2 2/3 innings due to the ailment. However, she was still effective, as she posted a 2.54 ERA in those starts ... The UVa pitching staff allowed more than three earned runs just four times all season ... Virginia lost 15 games this season due to inclement weather ... UVa was 5-1 in games win which they scored in the first inning ... When the Virginia bats scored the first run, UVa posted a 10-2 record. The opposition scored first in 16 of the Cavaliers first 18 games ...In all, UVa was shutout nine times in 1997, but just once in the season's final 13 games ... Kellers will enter the 1998 season with a 154-98 career record. Her five year record at Virginia is 123-97 (.559) ... In five home dates, Virginia averaged 105 fans in attendance ... UVa was 3-0 in extra-inning affairs ... Holmes snapped a four-game hitless streak with by going 4-for-8 with three RBi over her final two games.