While the Virginia spring sports scene has been dominated by the success stories of the men's tennis and lacrosse squads, as well as the defending national champion women's lacrosse team, there's a team that has been quietly putting themselves in position to make some late-season noise.
The Virginia softball squad, without garnering much of the big headlines and attention, recently has begun to turn its season around. To the average person, the Cavaliers' overall record of 22-25 (as of April 20) does not seem to merit the big-time headlines, but the average person would not know that, with an ACC record of 7-4, Virginia is sitting in second place in the conference.
After a slow start to the season, when new starters at shortstop, first base and outfield had to acclimate, the Cavaliers made it their goal to play well in the ACC and get their record back over .500. Virginia has done well with the first goal and recently has begun to make strides towards accomplishing the second.
"We are sitting in very good shape right now," Virginia coach Cheryl Sprangel said. "We are two games ahead of Florida State, but we have to make sure that we continue our philosophy of taking two out of three from our last two [ACC] opponents."
The Cavaliers will have a chance to continue with that philosophy when they travel to Tallahassee this weekend for a three-game series against Florida State (28-18, 8-6 ACC). The Seminoles are right behind the Cavaliers in the ACC standings in third place. The series has large implications for both teams, as well as for the conference standings and for the ACC Tournament seedings.
"This is a big series this weekend," Sprangel said. "If we keep doing what we've been wanting to do, which is take two out of three, then we will stay in second place."
This weekend also will be important for Virginia's momentum heading into the final stretch of the season. The Cavaliers have had an up-and-down year but recently have been playing much better.
Virginia's recent tear has been sparked by the veteran play of senior Jenn Wynn, junior Sara Larquier and sophomore Elea Crockett. Wynn is hitting .478 in conference games, and Larquier is hitting .444 over the last seven games. Crockett has given the Cavaliers a spark, hitting .474 since coming back from an injury which required stitches in her hand.
The Virginia pitching staff also has stepped up recently. Most notably, junior Erin Horn earned two victories Wednesday over George Washington on the road, throwing her first career no-hitter in the second game.
"We definitely have some little niches to fix, but we are definitely starting to get it all together," Larquier said.
The road trip to Florida State will be a great place for Virginia to get it all together and solidify its position as the number two squad in the ACC. But, as this season's ups and downs have shown, the three-game series against the Seminoles also has potential to make the Cavaliers' recent momentum come to a grinding halt.
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