The Virginia softball team plays a doubleheader this Saturday at home against N.C. State, two games which will greatly affect the team's seeding in the upcoming ACC tournament.
A sweep this weekend would bring the Cavaliers to 4-4 in conference and extend their current winning streak to seven games. The Cavaliers (34-23, 2-4 ACC) know what rests on this weekend's games and are excited about the prospects.
"Looking forward to NCAA regionals, if we sweep this weekend we have a really good chance," freshman second baseman Elea Crockett said.
The two teams split their previous matchups, but both were very close contests.Virginia won the first game by one run and NC State (31-21, 3-3) managed a run in the tenth inning of the second game to win 3-2.
Over the previous five games, Virginia has plated an explosive 44 runs.This is in stark contrast to the 28 runs total scored in the team's 23 losses this season.
"Mostly we're just picking out good pitches," first baseman Hannah Owings said."We've got an excellent hitting team, and a lot of times we're just too anxious at the plate. If we wait for good pitches, then eventually pitchers are going to bring it in."
The team also is showing a knack for hitting in the clutch, scoring 20 runs on only 26 hits last Wednesday.
"The team is just coming together," Crockett said. "We're getting hits when people are on."
Aside from the fact that their postseason position will be largely affected by the upcoming games, tomorrow's contests will also be the final two home games for the seniors on the team.
The Cavaliers have only three seniors on a relatively young team, but all three have made a difference this season.Owings, Heather Field and Joanna Barstad comprise the graduating senior class.
Owings, a Washington native, is one of the two team captains and is a four-year starter at first base for Virginia. In her final year she has appeared in all but one game and batted .333 for the Cavaliers. She is also second on the team in home runs and third in RBIs.
Owings' fellow team captain is senior Heather Field. Like Owings, Field is a four year starter for Virginia, playing shortstop and appearing in every game this year for the Cavaliers. In all four years at Virginia the California native has only missed a single game as a freshman. Field is the team leader in home runs, runs and slugging percentage for 2004, but more impressively is second on the team in RBIs while batting in the leadoff position. She was also selected in the fourth round of the 2004 National Pro Fastpitch Senior Draft by the Sacramento Sunbirds.
The third member of the senior class is the lone fourth-year pitcher on the team, Joanna Barstad. In her senior year, Barstad, who hails from Oregon, has been the leader of the young staff.She leads in team in ERA, appearances, games started, innings pitched, and saves.
"Jo has really been the senior leader pitcher that we really need, and she's really stepping up and doing the job," Virginia coach Cheryl Sprangel said.
This Saturday the Cavaliers will need the three seniors to keep the same level of play they have maintained for four years at the University.But, it seems as though the team is peaking at the right time to make a postseason run.
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