April 27, 1999

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. - Virginia Tech's softball squad extended the nation's longest win streak to 24 games by squeezing out a pair of 1-0 victories over Virginia on Tuesday at The Park.

The doubleheader turned into a pitchers' duel between UVa's Kristen Dennis and Tech's Clarisa Crowell in game one, followed by the Cavaliers' Chrissy Quinn and the Hokies' Ashlee Dobbe in the second game.

After two innings of scoreless softball in the opener, Virginia Tech's Bronwyn Blair (1-3, run) singled to give Tech a baserunner in the third inning. One batter later, Clarisa Crowell (1-2) hit an RBI triple which score Blair to give the Hokies a 1-0 lead. Crowell's triple would turn out to be huge, as it resulted in driving in the eventual game-winning run.

Although Crowell came up big at the plate, her performance in the pitchers circle may have even been better. She pitched a complete game shutout through seven innings of play, allowing only four Cavalier hits. UVa's Karen Breshears, Dennis, Lori Reese, Meaghan Young each finished 1-3 for the game.

Dennis pitched a solid game in a losing effort, as she allowed only one run on three hits while striking out 10 Hokie batters. Tech's Kara Krumhardt (1-3) collected the third Hokie hit of the contest in the 1-0 win.

Game two was nearly a mirror image of the first contest, only this time both teams played five scoreless innings before a run was scored. With the score knotted at 0-0, once again it was a triple by Tech's Crowell (1-2) that sparked the Hokie offense.

One batter later, Krumhardt (1-3) grounded a chopper to Virginia's second baseman Amy Peay. Peay mishandled the ball which led to an error that allowed Crowell to score the game winning run.

Virginia Tech's Dobbe collected the complete game shutout, as she allowed one three hits while striking out nine batters. Virginia's Quinn surrendered five hits and gunned down a game-high 13 batters in a losing effort. Tech's Michelle Meadows and UVa's Young each went 2-3 at the plate.

With the two losses, Virginia falls to 30-24 overall. The Cavaliers are 4-4 in the Atlantic Coast Conference. Virginia Tech improves to 50-12 overall and is 12-0 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

UVa will return to home action on Wednesday, April 28 when Virginia faces the Liberty Flames in doubleheader. The first game of the doubleheader is scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. and will be played at The Park. The doubleheader with Liberty will be Virginia's final regular season contests of the season before heading off to compete in the 1999 ACC Tournament in Tallahassee, Fla. May 14-16.

Virginia Tech will resume action on Saturday, May 1 at 12:00 p.m. when the Hokies face Rhode Island in a doubleheader on the road.