Sometimes one game can change an entire season. The Virginia softball team hopes that last Friday's 4-1 victory over Hawaii to close out the Hawaiian Airlines Spring Fling Tournament will mark a turnaround point in a so far challenging year.
The last three weeks have been difficult for the softball team. Following a 4-0 shutout win over Bowling Green February 25, the Cavaliers lost eight consecutive games before Friday's win against Hawaii. With the midpoint of the season approaching, the team's overall record stands at 6-14.
Despite the team's current losing record, Cavalier players are maintaining an optimistic outlook about the rest of the season.
"We're staying positive, which is really good considering our record," sophomore pitcher Coty Tolar said. "We are staying strong defensively. I think our pitching is starting to come around."
Senior catcher and team co-captain Jenn Wynn discussed the players' approach to the recent tough stretch.
"We are doing a really good job of communicating and working through all the problems we are having," Wynn said. "We're doing a good job of identifying how we're going to fix them. We're working on having everything come together -- hitting and defense -- in the same game."
There have been bright spots in the team's season so far. Right-hander Tolar has a strong 2.91 ERA and has recorded three of the team's six wins. Fellow pitcher Erin Horn has struck out 51 batters in only 46.2 innings of work.
Wynn and junior third baseman Sara Larquier have been offensive standouts. Wynn leads Virginia with a .352 batting average, while Larquier has batted in 16 runs. The Cavaliers also have displayed good team base-running skills, successfully converting more than 70 percent of their stolen base attempts.
Last week's Hawaiian tournament also showed positive trends for the team. Virginia had an overall record of 1-4 in tournament play, but the losses were close, with all four defeats being decided by either one or two runs. The Cavaliers showed an increase in offensive production, scoring 10 runs in their final two tournament games, including a 13-hit effort against Nevada.
Last Friday's win over Hawaii marked the first victory of the season for Erin Horn and her 35th career win at Virginia. The team's performance in the tournament has players optimistic.
"Hawaii was great, we had a ton of fun," said Larquier. "We played extremely well this weekend, although the scores don't necessarily reflect that. We ended on a win."
Further fueling the team's optimism is a return to Charlottesville to host the Hoo's Who Tournament this weekend. This Friday's match against Bowling Green will mark the first home game of the season for Virginia after twenty games at away or neutral sites. The Cavaliers seem confident that playing their next five games at The Park will give them a helpful boost.
"I think we turned the season around at the end of the Hawaii trip," Laquier said. "Now having this five or six game home stand will really help us"
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