The Virginia softball team finished participating in the prestigious Mary Nutter Collegiate Classic in Palm Springs, Calif. this weekend, going 1-2 on the final two days and finishing with a 2-3 record in the tournament overall. Though the Cavaliers (6-7, 0-0 ACC) managed no upsets, they did get to see top-flight competition in a tune-up for the start of conference play in two weeks.
After opening play Thursday with a 7-1 loss against No. 22 Washington and a 5-2 win against San Diego State, Virginia battled No. 9 Oregon Friday evening. The Cavaliers could not handle the hard-hitting Ducks (11-3, 0-0 Pac-12), falling 13-0 in five innings. Freshman pitcher Emma Mitchell yielded seven runs, six earned, in a third of an inning in her first career start. Fellow freshman Aimee Chapdelaine threw 3.2 innings in relief, allowing five earned runs on ten hits.
Virginia finished the tournament Saturday against Colorado State and No. 20 Stanford. In the first game, senior pitcher Melanie Mitchell threw 11 strikeouts in a 7-1 triumph against the Rams (6-9, 0-0 Mountain West). Junior infielder Karli Johnson batted in a team-high two runs, and senior shortstop Alex Skinkis and junior third baseman Marcy Bowdren each registered two hits.
A perfect game from freshman pitcher Kelsey Stevens doomed the Cavaliers in their final game of the weekend, a 4-0 defeat to the Cardinal (12-3, 0-0 Pac-12). Melanie Mitchell gave up four runs on 15 hits in a complete game for Virginia.
Up next for the Cavaliers is a trip to South Carolina next weekend, where the team will compete in the Winthrop University Combat Invitational.
—compiled by Peter Nance
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