The Cavaliers entered Wednesday's matchup against Radford looking to jump-start their offense. Four batters into the doubleheader, the team got what it wanted.
Freshman second basemen Alex Skinkis launched the Cavaliers' action early with a leadoff single and then scored on junior first baseman Lauren McCaskey's double. Senior pitcher Nicole Koren knocked in McCaskey, and senior right fielder Sarah Tacke followed with a two-run homer. After only four hitters had stepped to the plate, Virginia (29-18) owned a 4-0 lead.
"The past few games, our offense has been there, but not as much as it has been earlier in the season," senior third baseman Abby Snyder said. "We really came out strong tonight, and everyone was hitting it hard, even when we weren't getting hits. It's good to have our offense back and at its strongest."\nDuring the second inning, Snyder continued the offensive onslaught, blasting her first long ball of the season. The Cavaliers were rolling through four innings, but an inopportune rain delay watered down their bats. Radford (29-12), on the other hand, came back firing on all cylinders. Freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell had cruised through the first five innings but surrendered two solo-shots during the sixth and seventh frames.
"When you come off a rain delay like that, it's pretty tough to try to get your rhythm back, and Radford came out refreshed," coach Eileen Schmidt said. "The rain delay was perfect for them, but we were hot, so it hurt us."
The Highlanders' comeback fell short, however, as Mitchell ultimately closed out the 5-2 win. The Cavalier ace scattered just four hits during the complete game, even as she fanned a total of 10 batters.
Mitchell "finished it out, even though it's hard to get yourself going again," Schmidt said.
Sophomore pitcher Stephanie Coates started the second game, and Radford's senior catcher Sarah Himan quickly capitalized on the pitching change by smacking a solo home run. During the third, Virginia cashed in on Snyder's leadoff double to tie the game 1-1. But the Highlanders responded in the fourth with a double and run of their own.
With Virginia trailing 2-1 in the fifth, sophomore shortstop Clara Kendall and Snyder began the frame with two hits. Kendall came around to tie the game on Skinkis's two-out single. During the following inning, sophomore center fielder Giannina Cipolloni again displayed her knack for clutch at-bats. After authoring a walk-off homer during Virginia's last series, Cipolloni smacked an RBI-triple to give the Cavaliers a 3-2 lead.
"I've been struggling, so it feels great to get hits in general, and to get the clutch hits feels really good," Cipolloni said.
Cipolloni scored on Kendall's sharp single, and Coates completed the 4-2 victory. After settling in, the sophomore pitched a stellar seven innings, allowing just two runs.
"Coates was excellent today; she got herself into a couple jams and got herself out of all of them," Schmidt said. "That's great to see, especially late in the season, it helps rest [Mitchell]. Coates can hold her own."
With these two hard-fought victories, Virginia put a stop to Radford's 13-game win streak.
"Those were two good wins because Radford's always tough midweek competition, and we've lost our last few games against them," Snyder said. "It's a good boost to go into Boston College feeling aggressive and ready to go."
The Cavaliers will hope to maintain that momentum as they face off against their ACC rival in a pivotal weekend series in Chestnut Hill, Mass.
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