Thousands of Virginia undergraduates last week made the annual exodus from Charlottesville to warmer climates for various Spring Break celebrations. The 17 women who compose the Virginia softball team were no exception, traveling across the country to the California coast. Rather than enjoying West Coast beaches and working on tans, the Cavaliers battled it out in 17 matches, several against some of the nation's top teams.
Competing in National Invitation Softball Tournament, the Sacramento State Capital Classic and squaring off in two doubleheaders, the Cavaliers finished the week with a 10-7 record.
Today at 2 p.m., the Cavaliers (23-10) return to their home turf against in-state rival, Virginia Tech (14-7).
Virginia Tech arrives at The Park following a strong 3-0 showing and top finish in their own Hokie Spring Classic while the Cavaliers look to extend their 22-game home winning streak, which carries over from last season. In last year's match up with Virginia Tech, Virginia defeated the Hokies in both games of the doubleheader with two 3-1 finishes.
For the Cavaliers, the past week should offer ample preparation for this afternoon's game against Tech.
"We competed against teams that are very competitive," Virginia coach Sprangel said of the Spring Break trip. "That's why we wanted to take this trip out there. We have to face the tougher competition to prove ourselves. Around here, we can play a lot of teams over and over and beat them but it proves nothing."
Virginia emerged victorious in ten outings and suffered seven losses over the course of the week. They finished the NIST with a record of 2-4, the SSCC at 5-2, swept the doubleheader against Sacramento State and split a pair of games with St. Mary's. Of the Cavaliers' seven losses on the week, three came to teams ranked in the top six nationally.
"We did play some really tough competition," said junior third baseman Ruby Rojas, who had five homeruns over the week. "But we expected better. There were definitely some games we should have won."
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The Cavaliers opened their week of competition Friday, March 8, with three matches in the NIST. Virginia showed early promise as it overpowered Santa Clara, 5-0, its eighth consecutive victory on the season, but then watched the streak snap in its 1-0 loss to Miami University. In the day's third and final match, Virginia again fell to No. 6 California.
Saturday, the Cavaliers again went 1-2 in their three games, losing twice to national powerhouse UCLA. The Virginia victory came in a ten-inning battle with ACC rival, Georgia Tech, 5-4.
After a 3-1 record in two doubleheaders against hosts Sacramento State and St. Mary's, the Cavaliers geared up for the second tournament of the week at Sacramento State. Virginia swept its first day of competition in the Capital Classic with three wins. Against Middle Tennessee State, UNLV and Sacramento State, Virginia wracked up an impressive combined score of 21-4.
Rojas attributed the successes to a full team effort.
"I think everybody all the way down the lineup has done their job. There hasn't been just one superstar," she said.
Following the 3-0 Friday sweep, Virginia completed the rest of the weekend with pair of losses and two additional wins, including a 10-1 thumping of Indiana University-Purdue University at Indianapolis which gave Virginia the top place in their tournament pool.
Today, the Cavaliers hope to capitalize on their exposure to teams like sixth-ranked California and top-ranked UCLA and on their rigorous three-game-a-day Spring Break schedule to combat Tech. Defending their home win streak adds to the motivation.
"Virginia Tech is a pretty good team and we can't take them lightly," Rojas said. "But we're not letting anyone beat us at home"
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