Virginia will host the Cavalier Invitational this weekend on a field 150 miles away from home. Charlottesville's record snowfall this winter has rendered The Park, the Cavaliers' usual home turf, unfit for use. Instead, the squad will entertain Notre Dame and George Washington at Christopher Newport University in Newport News.
"It's our first home game, away," coach Eileen Schmidt joked. "You have to make do with what you have, and I think we're just excited to play - especially at this time of year. There are a lot of teams who aren't getting to play."
The Cavaliers (2-5) enter the contest coming off a trip to Baton Rouge for the LSU Tiger Classic in which they held their own against some of the toughest competition in the country. Although the team went 1-4 at the tournament, they stunned No. 4 Michigan with an upset that propelled them to the tournament's championship.\n"I think we proved a lot," sophomore shortstop Clara Kendall said. "We proved that we can play with anyone and we can play with the best."
George Washington (0-0), the team's first opponent of the weekend, also has not been able to play because of the wintry weather. Friday's matchup between the Cavaliers and Colonials will be the latter's first foray onto dirt this season.
"I would expect a pretty high emotional level from George Washington because they're finally getting out on the field." Schmidt said. "They haven't played, so I think they're excited to get going."
Virginia's other opponent, Notre Dame (4-4), has been on a roll recently. Riding the strong arm of junior pitcher Jody Valdivia, the Fighting Irish swept its games at the Mizuno Classic last weekend. Valdivia's three wins there earned her Big East Pitcher of the Week honors, and she comes to the Cavalier Invitational in top form.
"Notre Dame gets after it," Schmidt said. "They can swing it and they have a good pitching staff that has been tested against some tough competition."
The Cavaliers face George Washington Friday morning and Notre Dame in the afternoon before facing both teams again Saturday. They will look to build off the momentum of the team's upset against Michigan last weekend.
"Last weekend was a really good learning experience for us," Schmidt said. "We need to take the things we learned this weekend, make the adjustments we need to make and apply them to these games"
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