The Virginia softball team (32-13) ran its home winning streak to 30 games today by sweeping the visiting Marshall Thundering Herd (10-16) in an afternoon doubleheader. The wins were sparked by solid pitching and some timely hitting from the Cavaliers, who were able to bounce back after dropping three of four games during their weekend road trip.
The first game remained scoreless through the top of the fourth inning, when several Virginia errors allowed Marshall to get on the board first. During that inning, three Virginia errors led to three unearned runs for the Thundering Herd. It was only Virginia pitcher Joanna Barstad's strikeout of Marshall catcher Breanne Lewis that stopped the bleeding and allowed the Cavaliers to get out of the inning without further damage.
Facing a three run deficit, the Cavaliers fought back over the next two innings, notching one run in the bottom of the fourth on a Tracy Sherman double and eventually blowing the game open behind back-to-back home runs by Ruby Rojas and Kristen Dennis. Rojas' three-run bomb, her seventh of the season, put the Cavaliers up by one while Dennis' solo shot, also her seventh, gave them some breathing room.
"Those [hits] definitely turned the momentum," Virginia coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "They also showed the team effort because if you didn't have two people on, Rojas' home run wouldn't have put us up."
The Cavaliers were able to add two more runs in the bottom of the sixth to increase their lead to 7-3, which would be more than enough for Virginia pitcher Joanna Barstad. She finished out her complete game by holding the Herd scoreless after the fourth inning, giving up only four hits and no earned runs during her seven innings of work.
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That dominance would carry over into the back end of the double-header as Virginia's Erin Allinder took the hill.
In the second game, Allinder was able to hold the Thundering Herd to only two hits and no earned runs as she matched Barstad in pitching a complete game. Marshall's only run came in the fifth inning when Carrie Dean, who reached base on an error, scored on a Nikki Wilcox triple. At that point Virginia was up one run and would add another in the bottom half of the inning to go up 3-1.
Once again the run support was enough for the Virginia pitching, as Allinder cruised the rest of the way en route to her fifth victory of the season. Combined, Virginia pitching gave up only six hits and no earned runs during their two games against Marshall.
"Both pitchers were smart with how they pitched," Dennis said.
"Our pitchers did their job today and gave us a chance to win," Rojas added.
That pitching, combined with the big Cavalier hits, proved too much for the visiting Herd. It also was enough to overcome some sloppy Virginia defense and push the Cavaliers to their 29th and 30th straight home victories. The Cavaliers will look to carry some of that home magic with them as they travel to Salem, Va. to take on in-state rival Virginia Tech in a double-header this afternoon.
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