The Virginia softball team was shut out in both games of its doubleheader against conference rival Maryland Saturday, losing 13-0 and 7-0 at home. The third game of the series, scheduled to occur Sunday, was canceled because of inclement weather and will not be made up later in the season.
Maryland's pitchers, senior Kerry Hickey and junior Kendra Knight, held the Cavaliers (15-17, 0-5 ACC) to just five hits during the two-game span and each recorded complete game shutouts. Four of the five Virginia hits were singles, with the only extra-base hit coming off the bat of freshman pitcher Erica Cipolloni. The ace belted a triple during the first game, but her teammates failed to bring her home.
The Cavalier hitters knew before the series began that hits would be hard to come by against the Terrapins (22-9, 2-0 ACC), as Maryland boasts one of the best pitching staffs in the conference. And Hickey - the reigning ACC Pitcher of the Week - and Knight showed exactly why this group has come to earn such a favorable reputation. During the first game, Hickey surrendered only two hits and struck out seven batters. Knight, meanwhile, followed Hickey with an equally impressive performance in the circle. The junior ace fanned 10 batters and allowed only three hits.
"[The Maryland pitchers] did a good job keeping us off balance," senior catcher Alison Pittman said. "They were going in and out, up and down, side to side, and kind of kept us guessing in the box as opposed to us knowing what pitch we were going to attack and hit."
Junior Stephanie Coates started for the Cavaliers during the first game, but was only able to manage three innings. The freshman gave up six runs on six hits before Cipolloni - who has been battling nagging injuries - entered in relief. Maryland's offense overpowered Cipolloni, as well, en route to a 13-run win in just five innings of play. Sophomore third baseman Lexi Carroll led the Terrapins offensive onslaught, blasting two deep home runs during the course of three innings.
The Cavaliers appeared more resilient in the second game as sophomore Kristen Hawkins made only her second collegiate start in the circle. The backup catcher pitched all seven innings and allowed seven runs on 12 hits. Hawkins seemed able to tame the Terrapin offense at times, but fell victim to Maryland's ability to hit the long ball. Carroll tallied two more home runs, while her teammates managed to knock three more out of the park.
"The long ball is like walks - there's nothing your defense can do if you're giving those things up," coach Eileen Schmidt said. "You want to make sure you're keeping the ball down in the zone, changing up your speeds a little more than we have in the past, and just giving your defense the opportunity to make outs."
Virginia was again without sophomore ace Melanie Mitchell. who has been unavailable to pitch since suffering an injury March 13. Schmidt believes that the loss of Mitchell in the lineup partially has caused the Cavalier offense to appear stagnant in its recent outings.
"It's interesting the way [Mitchell's injury] affected all pieces," Schmidt said. "We talk about separating the game into its different areas and not allowing one to affect the other, but it's been kind of a battle with a young team to understand that and not try to do too much. They know we're going to have to score runs, so they get in there and they press a little more. Instead of letting the game come to them they tried to take it to the game and we got beyond what we normally do."
Virginia has lost seven of its last eight games and currently sits in last place in the conference. But despite the recent struggles, the team remains confident that it will be able to make a surge as soon as Mitchell and Cipolloni return to full health.
"Wins and losses isn't so much our focus right now," Pittman said. "What we're trying to do is get back on track and find our identity ... For us it's about getting back to who we were. We still believe that we have a shot in the upcoming series [against Liberty] to get back on track and then make a run in the ACC"
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