The University of Virginia softball team (22-17, 3-8 ACC) will travel to College Park, Md. this weekend to take on the Maryland Terrapins (25-17, 4-7 ACC) in a three-game series.
Maryland stands in sixth place in the ACC, while Virginia is right behind them in seventh. Unfortunately for the Cavaliers, Maryland has been raising eyebrows lately, winning their last six games.
Wednesday, Maryland obliterated George Mason, sweeping a doubleheader with a 12-0 no-hitter and a 9-1 victory. Last weekend, Maryland took both games in a two-game series from No. 24 Virginia Tech. In both games, they managed a run against one of the ACC's best pitchers, Angela Tincher.
"Their 3-4-5 hitters are hitting the best pitchers in the conference and hitting them well," coach Karen Johns said.
Maryland's No. 3 hitter is Lindsey Ubrun, who was named ACC player of the week Monday.
To hold down Maryland's formidable offense, Johns will look to her pitching staff, especially senior Erin Horn. As of late, Horn has taken a larger role in the circle for the Cavaliers, leading the team with eight wins and a 2.03 ERA.
Wednesday, she picked up a victory and a save against James Madison.
"She threw very well against Florida State for us," Johns said. "She had one bad inning out of two games that we played. She pitched a shut out against them and shutout against James Madison."
Johns also lauded Maryland's pitching staff. In their last four games, Maryland's pitchers have given up only two runs.
"They have great pitching right now," Johns said. "They're throwing the ball exceptionally well, so we're going to have a big challenge on offense to score some runs."
If the Cavaliers can capitalize on scoring opportunities again this weekend, they might be able to find a low-scoring victory.
Jessica Taylor's bases loaded triple Wednesday allowed the Cavaliers to pick up four runs on only five hits.
"[That] is how you win," Taylor said. "A lot of times you can get a lot of hits, but you can't tie them together and you still lose. To tie the hits together and come together with key hits is the next step to winning games."
Taylor also discussed the need for Virginia hitters to be more pugnacious at the plate. She emphasized the need for hitters to not watch called strikes go by them.
"[We need to] be able to hit the inside pitch and be more aggressive with strikes," Taylor said. "[We need to] swing early in the count instead of waiting for two strikes to swing."
With both pitching and offense ossifying as of late, there is no reason why the Cavaliers cannot continue to win even against a hot team like Maryland.
"We're excited and expecting to hopefully sweep them," Horn said.
Two wins over Maryland would push Virginia past the Terps in the ACC standings. With only three teams left for Virginia to play in the ACC, every win helps with the ACC Tournament right around the corner.
"We had a great day at practice, we had a great day [Wednesday]," Taylor said. "We're very positive and looking to win some ACC games."
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