The Virginia softball team has taken an unorthodox approach in preparation for its afternoon home showdown against non-conference foe Georgetown. Instead of holding one of its weekly practices on the familiar confines of the softball diamond, the team headed to the boxing gym.
The Cavaliers (14-15, 0-3 ACC) spent more than 30 minutes Tuesday afternoon rotating through jump rope sessions, medicine ball exercises and speed bag and heavy bag workouts. And though coach Eileen Schmidt admitted that all of the players' punches were not always on target, she believed the girls achieved the desired outcome of the practice.
"You want to keep it light, and at the same time, you want them to alleviate some frustration," Schmidt said. "[With the workout], you're breaking it up and doing something different to keep their minds off of other stuff."
The Cavaliers are currently in the midst of a six-game losing streak. Boston College - a perennial conference bottom dweller - swept the club in a three-game series last weekend, downing Virginia by an average of five runs.
After the rough outing against the Eagles, Schmidt hopes that a matchup against Georgetown (6-21) - another team that has struggled in recent weeks - will provide the squad with a spark before resuming ACC play this weekend.
"We need [today's] game," Schmidt said. "We need another opponent to work some kinks out. We haven't changed anything but we need to be more efficient and consistent with what we're doing."\nVirginia is aware that it will have to play efficiently if the team hopes to avoid another letdown against a seemingly weaker opponent.
"I think we really just have to worry about ourselves and worry about getting our jobs done," senior outfielder Cynthia Javaras said. "We really can't worry about the name on the other team's uniform. We just have to go out and play our game."
The Cavaliers might be a bit shorthanded for the afternoon bout, however, as injuries have depleted their typically reliable pitching staff. Sophomore ace Melanie Mitchell was shaken up March 13 against Syracuse and has seen limited action since. Last weekend, freshman Erica Cipolloni - the team's No. 2 starter - also sustained an injury and was forced to miss the remainder of the series.
"They're day-to-day," Schmidt said. "At this point you want to make sure that they're healthy and not doing any more damage to themselves and that when you get them back ... they can be of use."\nIf their top pitchers are not able to enter the pitching circle against the Hoyas, the Cavaliers must seek additional contributions from members of the team both offensively and defensively.
"You got to pick up your game a little bit," Schmidt said. "From an offensive perspective, you know you're going to have to score runs. Defensively ... you're going to have to suck it up and make some tough plays."
Schmidt indicated that there is a fine line between stepping up and playing out of your comfort zone, however. The Cavaliers want to remain cautious about attempting to do too much, especially against a Georgetown team that averages fewer than two runs per game.
"I think it's more of just controlling what we can control," Javaras said. "And that's just everyone doing their job and their specific role on the team. I think we'll be more than fine if everyone steps up, plays their part, does their role and gets their job done."
Now with a day at the boxing gym under their belts, the Cavaliers are eager to suit up, do their jobs and get back on a winning track.
"It's like the basketball theory," Schmidt said. "When your top scorer goes down, you don't need someone to score 30, but you need everyone to chip in another five. I don't need someone to go out and strike out 10, but I need you to get us ground balls. I need everybody to get on base one more time, move somebody over one more time and hit somebody in one more time."
Virginia takes the field at 4 p.m.
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