Two weekends ago, on April 14, the Virginia softball team (43-17) lost in Charlottesville to conference rival North Carolina and witnessed the untimely end to their 30-game home winning streak. Today, returning to The Park, the Cavaliers have the opportunity to begin a new streak, squaring off against the Dukes of James Madison (22-16).
After dropping both ends of the doubleheader against the Tar Heels, a squad they had beaten the prior weekend in Chapel Hill, Virginia appears to have regrouped, winning its last five outings, including a 3-2 victory over Maryland at College Park on Sunday.
"Since UNC, we definitely have had a different mentality," junior third baseman Ruby Rojas said. "We just won against Maryland and so we basically feel a lot better. We're playing more as a team and we're putting things together. Today, we can go from there and make the most of the rest of the season."
In explaining the defeats to the Tar Heels, coach Cheryl Sprangel pinpointed the ineffective hitting of her team. With solid offensive play, the mistakes Virginia made in the field would have been easily overcome.
"We didn't hit in key situations," Sprangel said. "All of a sudden, we kind of laid back and we stopped attacking and swinging aggressively."
Virginia more than adequately addressed the problem in its following doubleheaders against Maryland-Baltimore County and Elon. In the four games, the Cavaliers outscored their opponents a mind-blowing 30-4.
Against the Terrapins Sunday, Virginia continued to exhibit strong hitting, notching their first ACC victory of the season, thanks in part to home runs from Rojas and senior pitcher Kristen Dennis, who received the ACC Player of the Week award, her fourth of the season. Although Virginia defeated Georgia Tech, North Carolina and Maryland at the Tar Heel Invitational, the wins do not go toward its ACC record.
In the Cavaliers' five games last week, Dennis hit .400, went 3-0 from the mound and broke her own school records for single-season home runs and RBIs. She now holds the two records at 13 and 53, respectively.
"Kristen has just had a phenomenal season this year," Rojas said. "She's pitched tremendously well and she's always been a team leader."
Today, Virginia faces an underdog JMU team that looks to be overmatched by a strong Cavalier contingent. The Dukes arrive in Charlottesville having gone 1-2 over the weekend against Towson.
Though Virginia plans to approach the doubleheader against JMU as competitive a match-up as any, the Cavaliers are well aware of the fact that ACC top dog Florida State shows up next on Virginia's plate. The Seminoles travel to Charlottesville next Tuesday. Thus, the doubleheader against the Dukes offers Virginia a final opportunity to fine-tune and increase its confidence.
"We're still trying to play one game at a time," Sprangel said. "This is the type of game you can't overlook. We know we need to take care of business and mainly take one game at a time. The losses against UNC hurt us but we have beaten them before and we know we'll get another shot at them in the ACC Tournament. I think right now, we're maybe the third strongest team in the region - behind FSU and Florida Atlantic - and if three regional teams are taken for postseason play, we'd have a good shot."
Of course, that requires beating James Madison today. Entering with a 5-0 streak and returning to a home field that has long proved inhospitable to opponents, the Cavaliers are ready. The first game of the afternoon begins at 2:30 with the nightcap scheduled to start at 4.
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