As the Virginia softball team prepares to enter the home stretch of its roller coaster ride of a regular season - beginning with a home doubleheader against Delaware State this afternoon - the players find themselves coveting something that has eluded them all season. Amid an up-and-down year filled with injuries and unpredictability, the squad seeks some consistency for a change.
"It's been a long season and a lot has happened, but now we need to settle down and finish strong," senior outfielder Alison Pittman said. "We need to come out and have some better showings in a row, some more consistent showings. We've shown glimmers of greatness, but we need to come out, day to day, inning to inning, and show that we are really a great team."
The Cavaliers (18-21, 2-9 ACC) have 13 games remaining in their regular season, which should provide them with ample time to steady the ship. Their year began with plenty of promise after a grueling preseason schedule carried the team into the regular season with three victories against top-25 programs already under its belt. But after the injury bug hit and forced Virginia's two top pitchers - sophomore Melanie Mitchell and freshman Erica Cipolloni - to be sidelined in early March, that early success started to unravel.
Health issues had a domino effect on the team by forcing multiple players to play out of position and thereby disrupting the team's early-season comfort level. With the roster back to full strength during the last few weeks, however, the team has seen flashes of its previously elusive cohesiveness re-emerge.
"We've seen moments of it in recent weeks, especially against JMU and [North] Carolina," Pittman said. "But we need to get it fully back on track and be consistent with it ... We need to trust all the hard work and success that we had in the preseason and take what we've learned so far, and eventually it will carry us through."
The Cavaliers will strive for this consistent team effort this afternoon when they face off against MEAC foe Delaware State in back-to-back games starting at 4 p.m. at The Park. The Hornets (22-10) are an overachieving group who present an offensive strategy not unlike the Cavaliers' own attacking mindset.
Neither team will overwhelm with sheer power; both instead look to get on base early and often to pressure opposing defenses with their speed. The Hornets' lineup does not contain a single batter with more than two home runs on the season, but it does showcase six hitters who enter the game with at least a .350 batting average - including three who are hitting above .400. The Cavaliers hope the two teams' similarities will provide an advantage in their preparation.
"When you're playing an offense that's like your own, you get to practice against it every day," coach Eileen Schmidt said. "So you work on getting the ball out quick, you work on cutting off the gaps so that they can't get extra base hits ... or an opportunity to run the bases. These are things we know how to do."
Another key parallel between the two offenses is that they both know how to run the bases and are constant threats to steal. While the Cavaliers hold a 75-56 advantage in total bases stolen on the year, the Hornets have proven more successful in their attempts, as their 90 percent success rate edges Virginia's 80 percent. With both teams attempting to score the same way, the game ultimately hinges on which squad best executes the strategy.
"It's going to come down to what how the pitching is, who's consistent in the circle," Schmidt said. "Or really, who shuts down the other's offense faster. If we keep them off base they can't run, and if they keep us off base we can't run. You want to take away the type of offense they have, and they're going to try to do the same."
With the number of games left to play dwindling down, the Cavaliers know that their opportunities to collect wins and start a streak are limited. As they enter today's doubleheader, securing and then maintaining momentum will be their central focus.
"Let's get hot," Schmidt said. "Let's find a way that dials you in individually and dials you in as a team. We're kind of missing that from game to game or from practice to game. So let's get hot and stay hot. And let's be consistent, consistently on an even keel"
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