Virginia softball will be at home this weekend for a three-game stand against in-state foe Virginia Tech. Although the Hokies are a perennial rival for every Virginia sports program, the matchup's implications in the ACC are more crucial.
Virginia (19-22, 2-9 ACC) enters the series tied for last place in the conference, while the Hokies (30-11, 7-5 ACC) find themselves muddled in the crowded middle. With only 11 games left in the regular season, the Cavaliers know that every remaining game is important, regardless of the history between the teams.
"Where we're at [in the season] right now, our mind is just focused on getting consistent and playing our game," coach Eileen Schmidt said. "Yeah it's a big rivalry for us, but right now everything is a big rivalry because every game is important when you're trying to get hot and go into a tournament."
The two teams met last year in the ACC Tournament, where the Hokies upset a favored Virginia team 1-0 in extra innings. The Cavaliers maintain that revenge is far from their mind, but they also are aware that conference wins determine postseason seeding. With the ACC standings clustered, the Cavaliers can emerge as contenders this weekend.
"It's funny right now because everybody [in conference] is doing a little bit of knocking each other off," Schmidt said. "So there's kind of a jumble in the middle and that gives us an opportunity that, if we can get some wins here and there, we can get in the middle of that jumble."
The series originally was scheduled for a single game Friday and a doubleheader Saturday, but has been altered because of weather concerns. The doubleheader now will take place Friday, with the first game starting at 4 p.m., while Saturday's only game will start at noon, weather permitting.
A canceled game may be a blessing in disguise for the Cavaliers, as it would prevent the Hokies from showcasing their entire rotation. Whereas most college softball teams have only one top pitcher, Virginia Tech boasts a bullpen of three dependable hurlers who all can get the job done.
Hokie senior Kenzie Roark and sophomore Jasmin Harrell split the majority of the pitching load and have thrown 116 and 107 innings, respectively. Roark - the team's leader in wins, innings pitched, strike outs, complete games, shutouts and ERA last year - also was named to the All-Tournament team, in large part because of the eight-inning shutout she threw against Virginia. Senior pitcher Ashton Ward spells the two stars, and although she has the least amount of innings pitched, she also maintains the lowest ERA among the bunch, a miniscule 1.84.
"They all have different strengths," sophomore pitcher Melanie Mitchell said of Virginia Tech's three-pronged pitching attack. "One's a power pitcher, one throws off-speed all the time and the third one is always throwing down and stays on the corners very well. So they're all different pitchers but they combine to make one very good unit."
The Hokies' offensive attack is daunting as well, averaging nearly six runs per game this season. Virginia Tech has no true star but instead features a lineup full of quality hitters, so that the team as a whole ends up better than the sum of its parts. The Hokies are the model of consistency, as their lineup boasts five batters hitting greater than .275 on the season. Their run production is also constant throughout, and the team has nine batters who have double-digit RBI totals on the year, as well as four who already have surpassed 30. Since the Hokies' power is spread around, too - five batters have four or more home runs - the Cavaliers recognize there is no one way to attack Virginia Tech's order.
"They don't let you rest any because any one of them can and has stepped up when they need a big shot or a good at bat," Schmidt said. "It's definitely a consistent lineup through the whole thing, and that's something they didn't have last year. All around they're a more consistent team."
And even though Virginia insists that its emphasis is on getting wins, regardless of the opponent, the fact that they are playing Virginia Tech always will be a factor in the back of their minds.\n"Yeah we have to get ACC wins; it's a must right now," Mitchell said. "But it's a Tech series, so it's going be big. It's always very competitive with them and we always want to win"
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