March 24, 2011
Box Score
WASHINGTON - Freshman Jenna Stark (Huntington Beach, Calif./Orange Lutheran) hit her first career home run and junior Mackensey Carter (Mission Viejo, Calif./Mission Viejo) went 3-for-4 with a home run, but a late Hoyas rally fell short, as the Georgetown University softball team lost on the road to the Virignia Cavaliers, 8-4, on Thursday afternoon.
Virginia slowly, but steadily, applied increasing pressure on GU from the start, as the Cavaliers scored one run in each of the first five innings. Starting in the circle, senior Melissa Conners (Wellington, Fla./Wellington) did her best to limit the damage, as she forced Virginia to strand seven runners in those five innings, including leaving the bases loaded in the fourth. All told, Conners stranded nine Virginia runners in the game.
Georgetown got three hits in the first four innings, including a couple of leadoff singles from Carter in the first and the third, but wasn't able to light up the scoreboard until a two-out rally in the fifth inning. With two away and the Hoyas trailing 4-0, sophomore Shikara Lowe (Beaverton, Ore./Jesuit) singled to left field and advanced to second on a wild pitch and was joined on the basepaths after senior Jillian Webb (Hemet, Calif./Hemet) drew a walk.
With GU's opportunities of getting back into the game growing slimmer with each passing out, Stark strode to the plate and launched the Erica Cipolloni offering into the Charlottesville twilight for her first career home run and pulled the Hoyas to within one, 4-3.
Virginia would answer back with a run in its half of the fifth and then tacked on three more in the sixth to put the game out of reach.
Carter pounded her third hit of the game for a leadoff home run in the seventh inning to make the final 8-4. With the bomb, Carter jumped into the team lead in home runs. She now has four on the year.
Georgetown will return home to open up its BIG EAST schedule at Guy Mason Field this weekend, with a doubleheader against Connecticut on Saturday and the rubber match to follow on Sunday. First pitch in the double dip is slated for noon.
