The Virginia softball team split its doubleheader with Florida State this weekend. Virginia (20-17, 3-8 ACC) claimed the first game in a 1-0 shutout, but Florida State (30-19, 6-5 ACC) rallied to win the second game, 8-5.
The two teams were originally slated to play three games over the weekend, but rain Saturday forced the series to be cut to two, which were both played on Sunday.
In the opener, junior leadoff hitter Elea Crockett singled in the first inning for the Cavaliers. After a sacrifice bunt moved her to second and a stolen base moved her to third, Crockett scored on a throwing error by Florida State catcher Melissa Wood. The first at-bat of the day was the only hit the Cavaliers managed, but it was enough for victory as the Cavaliers won on one unearned run and one hit.
Meanwhile, senior Erin Horn and junior Coty Tolar held the Seminoles to no runs on four hits.
"I thought Erin threw very well the first game," coach Karen Johns said. "Coty [Tolar] came in and did a great job, but we're not getting that consistently game to game."
In the second game of the day, the offense stepped up as the pitching staff faltered.
Senior Sara Larquier and Crockett both had two hits, sophomore Lindsey Preuss went three for four with two runs scored, and Whitney Holstun hit her third home run of the season. Altogether, the Cavaliers managed five runs on 11 hits.
The defense committed two errors but shined at times, stopping an FSU squeeze attempt in the fourth, tagging out FSU right fielder LaShaun Davis in a run down, and turning a 4-6-3 double play in the seventh.
With the score tied 3-3 going into the sixth inning, FSU pounded three home runs against three different Cavalier pitchers, putting FSU up 8-3.
Despite two comeback attempts scoring one run in the sixth and the seventh, Virginia ended the game with the bases loaded and was not able to even the score.
After being swept last weekend against North Carolina and only winning one game against Liberty this past week, the Cavaliers were satisfied with their efforts against a tough FSU team.
"I would've liked to have won both games, obviously, but I think we did good things in both games," Holstun said. "There were a lot of good hits and a lot of people are making big strides with their swings. We could have done better, but we did all right for today."
In their last game before FSU, the Cavaliers posted 13 runs, their highest of the season. With another 11 hits today, the offense seems to be stepping it up. However, with only one hit in the opener, the offense still lacks consistency.
"I think we're doing some really good things," Johns said. "We've got to work on two-out hits and hits with runners in scoring position. I think we're doing a great job with setups, but someone has to come through for us when we've got someone on base."
Despite the lack of consistency from around the field, there is no doubt in the improvement of the Cavaliers.
Before the series, Johns said that FSU might be the best team Virginia would face all season, and the Cavaliers played to their level the entire series.
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