The Virginia softball team split a midweek doubleheader against James Madison University yesterday, losing the first game 4-0 before taking the second game 2-1.
Virginia (7-13, 2-1 ACC) began the afternoon with a shutout loss to the Dukes in which JMU junior pitcher Jenny Clohan allowed only six hits and one walk over seven innings while striking out two.
Clohan "threw a great game," Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said. "She was a drop-baller with a good change-up, but it's nothing we haven't seen. I didn't really feel we made any adjustments throughout that game."
For the Cavaliers, senior pitcher Whitney Holstun allowed only six hits and one walk over seven innings.
Unlike Virginia, JMU (9-10) capitalized on its scoring opportunities and put four runs across the plate. Three of the hits given up by Holstun were solo home runs, including two to JMU junior catcher Julia Dominguez.
The Dukes left only three runners on base, as opposed to six runners left on for Virginia.
"I think we were pretty disappointed in the first game," sophomore Kelly Haller said. "Not because we didn't play well, but because we gave up hits and didn't return them."
Game two was a pitchers' duel between Virginia junior Karla Wilburn and JMU junior Shannon Outman through the bottom of the fifth inning, when senior Meghan O'Leary smacked a double to left field for Virginia's first hit of the game. Two batters later, Haller belted a two-out fly ball to deep center field, which bounced off the wall for a two-run double.
"I thought that [hit] was all arms," Haller said. "I was surprised it went as far as it did."
JMU answered immediately, scoring a run in the top of the sixth, though base-running errors cost the Dukes more runs in the inning. The first out came after junior Amber Kirk was caught between second and third base. The inning ended when junior pinch runner Megan Forbes was doubled up at first after a pop fly to left field.
In the top of the seventh, JMU managed to get the tying and winning runs on base, but a sharp grounder to second base ended the game with a Virginia victory.
"I was just thinking to throw one pitch at a time," Wilburn said. "I had faith in my defense that they would come up and make the play."
Wilburn allowed seven hits, two walks, one earned run and had one strikeout over seven innings.
The Cavaliers now return to ACC play with a three-gamehome series against Florida State (18-9, 1-2 ACC) beginning Friday. A doubleheader will start at 4 p.m., followed by the second game at 6 p.m. The final game of the series will take place Saturday at 1 p.m.
The Seminoles enter the weekend on a hot streak. They have won their past seven games and had five straight shutouts until allowing one run in each game of a doubleheader against Connecticut Tuesday.
Virginia's pitchers will have to be on their toes if they hope to reign in the Florida State offense, which has already scored 106 runs this season. The pitching staff will need to pay special attention to ACC Player of the Week senior Brittany Osmon, who leads the team with a .378 batting average and a .622 slugging percentage. She has four home runs and 19 RBIs.
"They're usually a very fast team," Wilburn said. "They put the ball in play and they run a lot, so it's going to be really crucial for our defense to come up and make the plays."
Offensively, Virginia will have to contend with one of the best pitching staffs in the ACC. Opposing offenses have hit for only a .196 average, and Florida State's pitchers have a combined ERA of 1.77. Three of the four pitchers have ERAs under 2.00 and senior Tiffany McDonald leads the rotation with a 1.08 ERA.
McDonald, sophomore Terese Gober and freshman Sarah Hamilton, the three pitchers with ERAs under 2.00, all average more than a strikeout per inning; Gober leads the team with 88 in 84.2 innings.
"FSU is always good," Schmidt said. "But you're not playing the name, you're playing the game. And if we can play the way we played against Georgia Tech ... we should be fine. But if we come out a little flat, then it's anybody's ballgame"
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