The Virginia softball team played in four early season tournaments this year, traveling to Tampa, Fla.; Tucson, Ariz.; Palm Springs, Calif. and Jacksonville, Fla. The going got tough against high levels of competition such as Arizona, Oregon State and Michigan. These tournaments, along with a two-game series against East Carolina, have combined to give Virginia its current record of 8-16.
The Cavaliers now turn to the part of the schedule dominated by ACC opponents. The familiarity of the ACC opponents is something that will be welcomed by the Cavaliers.
"It's very encouraging to begin ACC play," senior catcher Michelle Salmiery said. "We've played these teams before so we have good scouting reports. We can exploit their weaknesses better. The sense of familiarity is definitely encouraging. The home games we have coming up is also encouraging."
Virginia has yet to play a home game and will have played 29 games before playing at home. Its first home game will be against Maryland March 24.
Virginia will face one of the toughest ACC opponents this weekend: North Carolina (24-8).
The Tar Heels are led on offense by sophomore Breanna Brown, who sports a .385 batting average. She has a hit in 35 of her 94 at-bats during the year. The team has three other hitters who have averages over .300 including junior Cassie Palmer, freshman Stephanie Murad and senior Joslin Higgins.
North Carolina's pitching staff is led by a pair of sophomores playing very well this season: sophomore Amber Johnson (10-2) and sophomore Lisa Norris (14-6). The Tar Heels lost a senior pitcher in Crystal Cox, but these sophomores have filled her cleats well this year.
"Carolina is a strong team," Salmiery said. "They lost a pitcher to graduation, Crystal Cox. She was a standout for them. They will be a pretty strong team, and we can expect a strong series from them."
Virginia counters the solid pitching of North Carolina with only one player who is hitting above .300, freshman Kelly Haller at .391. Haller has 25 hits in her 64 at-bats this season.
Virginia's pitching staff of sophomore Karla Wilburn (6-7) and senior Coty Tolar (2-4) has yet to collect the wins and have the success of the Tar Heel staff.
Virginia will need a great series to compete with the Tar Heels, who have been pounding the ball and have won 17 consecutive games.
"Their strength is on the offensive side of the ball," Virginia coach Karen Johns said. "They have veteran pitching, they are scoring a bunch of runs and that is what is carrying them through a bunch of their games right now."
North Carolina's offensive firepower is evidenced in the fact that the Tar Heels have scored six runs or more nine times this season. The team's run scored average for the year is between four and five runs, while Virginia's runs scored average is between three and four runs.
How can the Cavaliers surprise the streaking Tar Heels and steal a couple of games? By working on the little things.
"We need to pay attention to detail," Salmiery said. "We can't worry about the outcome as much and clean up our game."
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