By Bailey Stephens Cavalier Daily Staff Writer The Virginia softball team will travel to Lynchburg Tuesday for a doubleheader against Liberty. The Cavaliers (18-15, 2-7 ACC) will look to better their record against the out-of-conference Flames. Coming into yesterday's contest with Bethune-Cookman, Liberty was undefeated (8-0) at home.
The Flames (23-10) are a team that Virginia cannot afford to look past. With their undefeated start at home, the Flames have established themselves as a formidable opponent.
"Liberty is a tough little team," third baseman Sarah Larquier said.
In the game, the Cavaliers will look to fill the gap left by team-leading hitter Amy McKean (.378) due to a broken leg.
"We can't afford to lose her, and that's a big loss for us," Virginia coach Karen Johns said. "But we'll just focus on what we're doing today. We need [Larquier] to step up for some RBIs, especially with Amy being out."
With the offense struggling of late, the pitching has picked up the slack for the Cavaliers. Despite her 6-6 record, pitcher Erica Horn has a minute 1.95 ERA. Meanwhile, Karla Wilburn has racked up slightly over 85 innings for the Cavaliers in her 21 appearances this season. Against Liberty, the pitching staff will have to battle against Jessica Moore and Dawn Jeffs, both hitting over .400 for the season.
With McKean out for a month, Larquier has come on strong lately to bolster the Cavalier lineup. Larquier, who hit her ACC record-breaking 173rd career RBI Saturday, has raised her batting average recently.
"I just kept my goal in perspective -- getting on base, finding a way to score runs whether I was up or down," Larquier said.
With the ACC tournament looming, the Cavaliers have 20 games left to make a move to the top of the conference. With their 2-7 conference record, the Cavaliers need to take advantage of the non-conference games coming up to get back on track.
"I think the only mindset that we can have is to evaluate where we are with an individual process, did we make strides today, when we're looking at the film, because film tells all," Johns said. "We have to take that to Liberty and say, 'this is what I have to do today to make my game better and contribute.'"
After being swept over the weekend by visiting North Carolina, the Cavaliers hope to rebound by taking both halves of the doubleheader against Liberty.
"Our team is strong enough and we're resilient enough to come back on Tuesday and take the two games from Liberty," Larquier said.
The first pitch against the Flames is scheduled for 2 p.m. at Liberty Softball Field in Lynchburg. Game number two is scheduled for 4 p.m.
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