On a cold, rainy day at The Park, the Virginia softball team found a way to steal a pair of wins from Harvard yesterday.
The Cavaliers (13-15) swept Harvard (2-12) with a pair of shutouts in the doubleheader, winning 4-0 and 8-0, respectively.
"The first game we really jumped out and took advantage of them playing in and hit some balls over their heads," Cav coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "From that point on, they moved back and their pitcher settled down a bit."
Umpires ended the first game of the day in the bottom of the sixth due to inclement weather. But before the rains came the Cavaliers were able to post all four of their runs in the first inning coming off three doubles and a single.
The second game of the doubleheader was delayed an hour and a half, but eventually the downpour ceased, the sun began to shine through and the game got underway.
Despite the delay, Virginia was able to maintain the positive momentum from the earlier 4-0 victory.
"We definitely came out today with a little more confidence than we have been," Cav pitcher Kristen Dennis said. "In the first game we started hitting the ball great right off the bat, which built it up for the second game today. We just brought it all together in both games."
The Cavs got on the board in the bottom of the third, when Cavalier captain Karen Breshears laid a bunt down the third base line, scoring Meaghan Young. Cav shortstop Ruby Rojas widened the gap, belting a double with runners on the corners to score Breshears and Dennis. Catcher Stephanie Calhoun's triple to leftfield drove in the last run of the third, giving Virginia a 4-0 lead.
The Cavs got one more run on Young's single in the fourth that scored outfielder Kelly McCabe, increasing the Cavalier lead to 5-0.
While a downpour was responsible for prematurely ending the first game, an offensive deluge by Virginia abbreviated the nightcap. In the bottom of the sixth, Young hit a bomb over the center field fence, adding three more runs to the Virginia lead and making the score 8-0: just enough for the mercy rule to take effect.
Dennis, an Encinitas, Calif., native, pitched a complete game shutout for the Cavaliers, improving her record to 3-8 on the season. She allowed three hits and no walks. She also struck out eight of the 21 batters she faced.
"In the second game their pitcher had a little different timing, so it took a couple innings to get used to her," Sprangel said. "But once we got smart, stayed back and made sure to pick good pitches we were able to get her timing also."
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