The Virginia softball team will begin its 2009 campaign this weekend, and judging by the Cavaliers’ 15-39 (6-15 ACC) record last spring, the team will need to play very differently if it is going to see more success on the diamond this year.
The team will face Middle Tennessee and East Carolina back to back Saturday and Sunday at Greenville, N.C. While neither opposing team is nationally ranked, East Carolina received votes in both the USA Today and ESPN preseason polls and is expected to contend for the Conference USA title. Middle Tennessee may not be on the national radar, but it should also challenge Virginia during the Cavaliers’ first weekend.
One positive for the Cavaliers will be the experience, albeit with a lack of victories, that they boast this year. Seven of last year’s starters are returning, including junior Kelly Haller and senior Carly Winger, who led the team in batting average in 2008. Five other team members were letter-winners last season as well. Captain Casey Steffan is one of four seniors that will lead the squad as it attempts to shake the 2008 team’s losing habits despite its similar roster.
“The main problem [last season] was just getting everyone on the same page,” Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said.
Team members hope that they have generated better chemistry during the past year. If the returning players cannot find the solution to last year’s struggles alone, the team hopes that a new batch of freshmen will provide needed energy.
The two starters who graduated in 2008 ranked third and fourth on the team in batting average, but Schmidt said she believes two freshmen receiving immediate playing time will fill the void. Clara Kendall of Jacksonville, Fla. — who was named to Florida’s All-State team as a senior — will start at shortstop and Giannina Cipolloni from Philadelphia, Pa. will likely play center field. Two other freshmen, utility player Rachel Harvey from Bluemont, Va. and pitcher Stephanie Coates from Gloucester, Va., could also play a crucial offensive role on the team, Schmidt said.
“We’ve moved the infield and outfield around a lot and put [former starting shortstop] Winger behind the plate,” Steffan said. “The first years have also helped a lot.”
Additionally, players also believe the team has improved its talent on both sides of the ball. The team enjoyed an abbreviated winter holiday so that it could come back and start training, Schmidt said, and the team should be physically well-prepared for the season ahead. Because all three starters from last year are returning to the mound, the pitching appears to be more well-rounded, and this season’s hitters also added that they, too, have improved and are looking to become more consistent this year.
“We need to perform at the highest level,” Schmidt said, noting that the team cannot perform as it did last year. In this regard, this weekend’s match-ups should provide an early look at how the rest of 2009 might play out for the Virginia softball program.
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