In a Wednesday evening doubleheader in Fairfax, Va., the Virginia softball team hammered George Mason 8-0 and 15-3, each in five innings. At the plate, the Cavaliers tallied 19 hits and had a team batting average of .388. On the mound, senior pitcher Melanie Mitchell broke the Virginia all-time record for career wins with 75.
The first game saw Virginia (16-16, 3-6 ACC) jump out to a 4-0 lead over the Patriots (9-23, 2-4 CAA) in the first inning despite getting only one hit. Five Cavaliers reached base on walks and another was hit by a pitch, while sophomore first baseman Megan Harris recorded the lone hit with a two RBI single.
The team struck again in the third inning, when three Cavaliers — junior designated player Karli Johnson, senior shortstop Alex Skinkis and senior second baseman Lauren Didlake — hit doubles, scoring three more runs. Mitchell (12-9) allowed four hits and no runs while striking out four batters in five innings.
Later that evening, the team had its single best hitting performance of the season, exploding for 13 hits in five innings. Sophomore outfielder Heidi Velk had a team-high three hits, while four other Cavaliers accounted for two each. Virginia scored three runs in the first inning and followed it up with six more in the second, in large part thanks to five George Mason errors. Freshman pitcher Aimee Chapdelaine (4-6) fanned three batters in five innings, giving up seven hits and no earned runs.
Up next, the team returns to ACC action with a three-game weekend series at North Carolina (28-13, 6-3 ACC). The Cavaliers have only beaten the Tar Heels once in their last six meetings.
—compiled by Peter Nance
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