The Virginia softball team tried to get back on track in the ACC this weekend during a series against the Maryland Terrapins. In the end, however, Maryland swept the Cavaliers, continuing Virginia’s conference struggles. The squad has now lost all three ACC series this season and has dropped five straight conference games.
In Saturday’s opener, Virginia (23-12, 2-7 ACC) struck first in the third inning and maintained its edge until Maryland (19-16, 5-4 ACC) chipped in three runs in the fifth off two Virginia errors. Cavalier junior outfielder Nicole Koren notched a home run in the fifth, but the Terrapins added two more runs in the sixth, securing their 5-2 victory. Virginia senior pitcher Karla Wilburn picked up the loss, giving up five runs on seven hits and notching four strikeouts.
Virginia’s offense disappeared in the second game, during which the Terrapins shut out the Cavaliers 5-0. The Cavaliers had only three hits to Maryland’s 12, and Koren gave up three runs off seven hits.
Sunday started out better for the Cavaliers than the previous two games, but Virginia nevertheless saw another loss, falling 8-4. Senior catcher Carly Winger reached base after being hit by a pitch to lead off the first inning and scored on a wild pitch later in the inning. Though Virginia had the bases loaded twice in the first, the squad could not capitalize, coming away with only Winger’s run.
Maryland responded immediately with a home run from junior outfielder Alex Schultz in the second inning to tie the score at one apiece.
In a back-and-forth battle, Virginia took the lead again in the third with a home run from freshman outfielder Giannina Cipolloni — her third this season. An error by the Terrapin catcher then allowed Koren to reach first on a strikeout, scoring freshman shortstop Clara Kendall. While Virginia had no hits up to this point, the Cavalier offense exploited Maryland’s frequent fielding mistakes to produce runs.
“We were more aggressive to our pitch,” Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said, adding that Maryland “had a first-year pitcher out there for the first few innings, and she threw a little wilder and harder, which is something we hit better.”
The Cavaliers’ hopes of snagging one win in the three-game series were silenced, however, by a Terrapin offensive onslaught in the sixth inning. Maryland tallied seven runs on seven hits to make the score 8-3. Although Virginia cut the lead in the bottom half of the inning on Koren’s 10th home run of the season, the Terrapins still took the 8-4 come-from-behind victory.
Despite the sixth-inning breakdown, Virginia’s defensive play in Sunday’s matchup was better than in the previous games of the series.
“I think we brought a better mentality to it,” Winger said. “[Wilburn] pitched well for the first five innings, and we had some easy plays.”
Through five innings, Wilburn had given up four hits and four walks. With the bases loaded in the first inning, the Cavalier defense helped her keep the Terrapins from scoring.
“The energy was a lot greater,” Kendall said. “We dropped it one inning, but when the energy is there, you are ready on every pitch, each pitch gets you there.”
Virginia will take a short break from conference play, returning to the field Wednesday with a midweek series against Longwood at the Park.
Game Notes:
Koren had one hit in each game in the series, extending her hit streak to four games.
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