The Virginia softball team took its first steps toward its stated goal of winning the ACC Tournament last night, sweeping George Mason 3-2 and 9-1 (five innings).
The Cavaliers (17-34, 1-17 ACC) have now prevailed in 24 straight meetings with the Patriots (15-30, 1-14 CAA) dating back to 1991.
The first game was a thriller that featured many shifts in momentum. George Mason struck first when freshman pitcher Becky Anderson lined a single into left field, scoring sophomore outfielder Meghan Hill.
Virginia answered in the second when sophomore shortstop Kierstie Cameron doubled down the right field line to score junior outfielder Lindsey Preuss. Cameron again came through in the fourth inning with another hit to right field, this one a single scoring freshman outfielder Sarah Tacke.
George Mason tied it up in the fifth when junior first baseman Kristin Dickel singled to left field. She reached second on an errant throw, and sophomore shortstop Kelsey Mack scored.
It was senior second baseman Elea Crockett's time to shine in the seventh when she stepped up to the plate with two outs and junior pinch runnerCasey Steffan in scoring position at second base. Crockett came through for the Cavaliers, knocking the ball through the middle of the infield and scoring Steffan on her first swing.
"Well obviously the pitchers were a little bit slow so I was bunting a lot in the beginning just to get the timing down," Crockett said. "At the end, I decided to swing away since we had two outs and a runner at second. Attacking the pitch was the key."
Senior pitcher Coty Tolar (5-11), who started the game for the Cavaliers, turned in a strong performance. She gave up six hits and one earned run in 4.2 innings of work. Junior pitcher Whitney Holstun (6-5) pitched the remaining 2.1 innings and gave up no hits to pick up the win.
Virginia coach Karen Johns decided to shake up the starting line-up for the first game, having a few Cavaliers play different positions to gain an offensive edge.
"The first game we were trying to get more bats in the line-up, trying to produce a little more offense," Johns said. "[In the second game], [Cameron had] been struggling and we wanted to give her a reprieve, get her out at practice tomorrow and get her ready for Georgia Tech. It was a temporary thing to fix our defense up."
Holstun nearly went the distance in the second game, pitching four of the five innings and giving up only one unearned run on six hits before giving the ball to sophomore Karla Wilburn to pitch the fifth.
Holstun attributes her success to pitch movement.
"I'm not a fast pitcher," Holstun said. "I don't throw the ball hard. It's all about movement. So I have to make sure to stay loose and relaxed and make the ball move. That's my key to success."
Johns is happy with Holstun's progress as a pitcher.
"She's locating the ball well," Johns said. "She struggled a little at Florida State. But overall, her location has been good and she's getting some good movements."
Virginia was very efficient in the second game, scoring its nine runs on only nine hits. All nine runs were scored in the first three innings as Virginia easily secured the victory. Crockett, Haller and senior left fielder Brooke Sorber each had two hits, while Cameron, Holstun and senior shortstop Meghan O'Leary each chipped in with one.
"Their pitching wasn't really dominating," Sorber said. "You just had to stay back and focus a little bit harder in a different way than when you face ACC pitchers. These weekly games are a nice way to warm up for the weekends and gain a little confidence."
The story of the Cavaliers' season has been their inability to translate this type of midweek success into weekend success. But, they will get another chance this weekend as they play their final ACC series at home against Georgia Tech.
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