Following Tuesday's rainout of its doubleheader against Virginia Tech, the Virginia softball team returns to action this weekend when it hosts the Hoo's Who Tournament at the Park. In the three-day round-robin tournament, the Cavaliers will face off against Drexel, Penn State and Wright State.
Entering the tournament, Virginia's record stands at a solid 23-10, and the team expects to improve upon that mark by sweeping the tournament.
The team's goal is "definitely to win the whole thing," senior centerfielder Kelly McCabe said. "We haven't lost at home in over a year."
The Cavaliers start the tournament against Drexel and play Wright State on Saturday before their Sunday showdown with Penn State. The Nittany Lions present the Cavaliers with their biggest challenge on the field.
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"Penn State will be the toughest, but I think if we play well, we should beat them," coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "We did play them in the fall. It was a good game, and we ended up winning. We just have to make sure that we play well."
McCabe echoed that point.
"I would say the hardest competition will be Penn State, not that we're taking any team lightly," she said. "Penn State always gives us some good competition and plays good teams as well. It's a good matchup."
To win the tournament, Virginia will need a complete team effort, something McCabe said she sees as the strength of this squad.
"We have versatile athletes, which is really good, and girls who can step up and hit a home run but then lay a bunt down," she said. "Confidence level ... we know we can walk into any game" and win.
The team captains - McCabe and pitcher/first baseman Kristen Dennis, who brings a .404 batting average and an ERA of 0.64 into the tournament - will lead the team effort. The Cavaliers also will rely on sophomore Ruby Rojas, who knocked five home runs during the team's Spring Break trip to California, to continue her hot hitting.
By playing tougher competition during their trip out West, the Cavaliers took note of a few aspects of their game that they need to work on.
"I felt like it was really good for us to play some ranked teams," McCabe said. "I felt like it was better for us to do that than stay around here and play teams not of the same caliber. We learned a lot of things we need to work on, including getting ahead early, scoring runs first in the early innings and giving our pitchers a little bit of support."
The Cavaliers hope to carry over the experience they gained from their Spring Break trip into this tournament. Sprangel points to the team's two close losses against top-ranked UCLA as experiences from which Virginia can draw confidence.
"One thing that is clearly evident is that against teams like UCLA, we faced the best pitching in nation," she said. "After that, no one looks all that tough"
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