Nothing seemed to go right for the Virginia softball team. When the pitching was clicking, the offense was unable to get runs across the plate. When the offense finally got hot, the pitching disappeared.
Virginia (7-22, 2-4 ACC) started the Cavalier Classic Thursday with a 0-4 loss to Georgetown. Things did not improve for the Cavaliers as the weekend continued.
Virginia took on Radford Friday in a tight 2-5 loss. The Highlanders (22-7) took advantage of freshman pitcher Allee Rife by scoring three runs off the lefty in two innings of work.
Virginia struggled to make up the difference at the plate, managing only four hits. Junior outfielder Sarah Tacke had two of those hits -- a double and a home run. She was the only Cavalier with multiple hits and the only with extra-base hits.
Despite the loss, the Virginia pitching staff put together a solid overall performance; however, the same could not be said for the games played Saturday.
Things did not begin well for the Cavaliers Saturday morning with a tough loss against Rutgers. The 14-15 final score looked more like the Rutgers football team had come to town for a spring practice game.
After falling behind 0-6 to the Scarlet Knights (10-13), the Virginia offense came to life and scored eight runs in the bottom of the second inning. The pitching staff was unable to hold the lead, and the score was 8-14 going into the bottom of the sixth inning.
Virginia rallied again in the sixth, this time scoring six runs to tie the score at 14-14. But Rutgers battled back, plating one in the top of the seventh and holding Virginia scoreless in the bottom half of the inning.
"I think the strike zone helped us," Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said of the team's offensive explosion. "It was a little tighter. We were hitting a little bit better pitches ... We were much more aggressive today."
The contest Saturday afternoon against Ohio (9-8) looked more promising. Virginia scored one run in the top of the first inning, but Ohio answered with two in the bottom half.
It looked like Virginia might make a comeback when the Cavaliers tied things in the second, but things went downhill from there. Ohio went on to score seven more runs and took the game by a final score of 9-3.
"We definitely had some high points and some low points," junior shortstop Carly Winger said. "We had a really good offensive showing today and didn't come through defensively. We just need to get everything working together at the same time."
Following the rough weekend, the Cavaliers came back out Monday afternoon for a rescheduled doubleheader against Radford.
In the first game, senior pitcher Whitney Holstun looked strong through two innings but then gave up four runs in the third, two in the fourth and three in the fifth.
Once again the Cavaliers' bats were unable to overcome the damage, scraping out only one run on four hits in a 9-1 loss.
The second game was a slugfest for the Highlanders, as Radford amassed 18 hits and Rife gave up 16 runs, 13 earned, over six innings.
The bottom of the Cavaliers' order made a strong showing in the game. Freshman first baseman Courtney Petit hit her first career home run, a two-run shot, and fellow freshman Lauren McCaskey went three for three with a run. Their efforts were not enough as Virginia lost 16-4.
"I refuse to lower my expectations for this program or this team," Schmidt said. "We're just as good as everybody else. I expect us to be just as good as anybody else at this University. There are a lot of great programs here, and we strive to get ourselves to the same levels as they are, and I refuse to lower my expectations for them or this University at anytime."
Virginia will try to get things back on track following nine straight losses. The Cavaliers welcome in-state rival George Mason (7-17) to the Park this afternoon for a doubleheader. The first game is set for 4 p.m., with the second scheduled to start at 6.
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