Some days -- no matter the heart, accuracy or will of David -- Goliath is going to come down and come down hard.
Wednesday at The Park, Virginia played the role of Goliath and Mount St. Mary's took on the role of David. And like Goliath, the Cavaliers came down hard.
Virginia (25-29, 7-7 ACC) romped Mount St. Mary's (11-24) in the first game, winning 16-0. The Cavaliers took care of business in the second game, putting away the Mountaineers 6-1. The Cavaliers used a steady stream of runs to defeat the Mountaineers in both games by scoring in every inning yesterday, except for the fifth and sixth innings of the second game.
Virginia won the first game by getting a season-high 18 hits to blank the Mountaineers in the five-inning game. The game was cut short because the eight-run rule, also known as the Mercy Rule, went into effect in the bottom of the fifth. Sophomore Coty Tolar, who pitched three innings, only allowing one hit, picked up the victory to put her record at 10-13 on the season.
In the second game, the Cavaliers took control from the beginning, knocking in one run in the first inning, then adding three more in the second.
Freshman Kathryn Mirras started off the second inning with a one-out double to left center field. Sophomore Michelle Salmiery knocked her in with a hard-hit single up the middle. After advancing to second on a past ball, Salmiery scored on a bloop single by junior Jessica Taylor. Then, in a scene that became familiar throughout the day, Taylor stole second, and sophomore Elea Crockett scored her with a single to right field to give Virginia the 4-0 edge.
The top of the order gave the Cavaliers the spark all day, as lead-off hitter Taylor went 5-5 with five runs scored on the day, and Crockett batted 7-7 on the day with three RBIs, a triple and a walk.
"I think it really helps when the top two or three people are getting on base, and we can hit them in with our power players," Crockett said. "When Jess gets on, it really helps move things along and start things off on the right foot."
After the Cavaliers added another run in the third inning, the combination of a Taylor single, steal and Crockett RBI single upped the Cavalier advantage to 6-0.
Mount St. Mary's got a run in the top of the seventh inning to get to the final score of 6-1. Junior Maria Lutz started things off with a double to right field and then scored on a double to left center by junior Danyale Goode. The rally stopped there, however, as sophomore Meghan O'Leary got three consecutive outs to pick up her first career save. Junior Erin Horn earned the victory after holding the Mountaineers scoreless and hitless through her four innings of work, boosting her record to 11-8 on the season.
Wednesday's performance for Virginia was not just about the everyday starter's good play. Nearly every Cavalier got involved. Non-everyday starters such as sophomores Brooke Sorber and Lara Rodriguez each went 2-3 on the day. Sorber also added two RBIs in the first game.
"It's fun when you can come out and hit the ball right away," Virginia coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "Everybody gets a chance to play. They did well, too. It's nice for them to get that chance and do well."
In the middle of the week, against a weaker non-conference opponent, the Virginia Cavaliers used a team effort to play Goliath, and this time, firmly squash David.
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