The Virginia softball team starts its home season this weekend in Charlottesville by hosting the Cavalier Classic tournament. Last season, the team went undefeated at home and wants to continue its winning streak at the Park.
"We have an 18-0 streak running at home" from last season, junior third baseman Ruby Rojas said. "So we need to focus and work to win."
Last weekend, the Cavaliers (9-3) won four of five games in the Worth/Icebreaker tournament in Tennessee.
"I think we're playing great," freshman pitcher Valerie Sevilla said. "We're all pretty much helping each other out, picking each other up when we make mistakes. We're coming together really nicely."
Sevilla received the ACC Player of the Week last week after the Triangle Classic tournament in North Carolina.
Other personal performances have powered the team to its great beginning of the season. Rojas is entering her third season with the team, and while she may have started off the season in a slump, she said she feels she is rising above it.
"I think I've just come off from a rough start," Rojas said. "I'm trying to get back into my routine. I had a good season last year and I want to have a similar season this year as well."
This weekend is expected to provide good competition for Virginia. The other teams in the tournament are Appalachian State, Rider, Tennessee and Morehead State.
Playing at home gives the team the advantage over the other teams in the tournament, and the Cavaliers hope to exploit that advantage.
"The home field advantage will play into it," Sevilla said. "We'll have our friends there to cheer us on."
While the Cavaliers have had a good deal of success early on, the team has been preparing to improve all parts of its game.
"We definitely need to work on our offensive part of the game," Sevilla said. "Our defense has been pretty solid."
The team's pitching, always solid, has been spectacular at times. In the Worth/Icebreaker tournament, junior All-American pitcher Kristen Dennis pitched no-hitters against Tennessee Tech and Louisville.
Last Saturday, the Cavaliers lost to Tennessee and will face them again this weekend. Some feel this could be the toughest competition that the team will face in the tournament.
Tennessee is 18-6-1 and has found lots of its success this season from its offense and powerful hitting. Virginia players said they think the team should be better prepared this time around.
"If we just stick to our game and the pitchers do our job, we should be able to play with them," Sevilla said. "We just really need to work on our batting and our offensive game"
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