The Virginia softball team split a doubleheader against Delaware State at The Park yesterday evening, taking the first game 2-0 before dropping the second 5-3.
Sophomore pitcher Melanie Mitchell set the pace during the first contest with an incredibly efficient seven-inning, one-hit shutout. Virginia's starting ace exercised pinpoint accuracy to strike out 10 batters en route to her 12th victory of the season. Furthermore, Mitchell's dominance prevented the Hornets (23-11, 5-1 MEAC) from using their potent speed and base-running ability to burn the Cavaliers' (19-22, 2-9 ACC) defense.
"Keeping them off base definitely helps," Mitchell said. "It's a game of moving one person up one play at a time and taking advantage of your opportunities. And we didn't give them many in the first game."
Mitchell seemed in firm control from the onset, striking out two of the first three batters of the game. Much like the first two Hornets who faced Mitchell, the rest of the Delaware State lineup was unable to find a rhythm as the sophomore talent dictated her own tempo and rarely fell behind in the count throughout the evening. Not one of the Hornets' batters found her way aboard via a walk.
"I just wanted to get ahead early," Mitchell said. "My go-to pitch is my curve, and I really don't have that right now, so I have to use other pitches. I really just tried to attack them, keep them off balance and let my defense work."
The Cavalier offense stepped up as well with two runs - more than enough support for the reliable pitcher. Virginia's bats - which have been stagnant at times during recent weeks - notched six hits during the first five innings of play. Junior outfielder Giannina Cipolloni sparked the offense's success during the first frame with a booming triple that one-hopped over the right field fence. Senior catcher Alison Pittman brought Cipolloni home with an RBI-groundout to the second baseman on the next at-bat to set up an early one-run lead for the Cavaliers.
And though the lone run would have been enough to propel Virginia to victory, the Cavaliers posted another during the fifth stanza for good measure. The Cavaliers used small-ball tactics to manufacture their second run as they tallied two infield hits and three stolen bases en route to a 2-0 advantage.
"That inning, and really the whole second game, I thought we did a much better job of playing to us and doing what we do best," coach Eileen Schmidt said.
Because of Mitchell's efficiency during her first outing, Schmidt brought the pitcher back to the circle during the second matchup of the doubleheader. But the ace failed to prove as successful as in her first outing, as she allowed two Hornets to reach base after facing just four foes at the plate.
Senior outfielder Andrea Waters - the Hornets' second batter - reached base on an error and was then able to take second following a wild pitch. Two batters later, freshman third baseman Ashley Davis ripped a single into right field to score Waters and give Delaware State its first score against Mitchell.
"She really didn't throw that many pitches in the first game, so that was part of the reason that we sent her back out for the second," Schmidt said. "But two games is long. You start to lose your edge mentally. [You're] not really tired but fatigued mentally."
Despite Mitchell's early struggles, the Cavaliers remained poised and evened up the game during the third inning as Cipolloni recorded a single and a stolen base to set up an RBI opportunity for her sister, freshman third baseman Erica Cipolloni.
"[Giannina] has carried us a lot this year and has done a good job from the leadoff spot," Schmidt said. "And [Erica] has come around recently coming off the injuries, and I feel like she finally has her feet underneath her. They're a tough twosome."
But the Cipolloni sisters' efforts went for naught as the Hornets managed to string together back-to-back two-run innings en route to a 5-3 triumph. Waters brought home two runners during the fifth inning with a single before her teammates knocked in two more RBIs during the sixth.
Following the doubleheader split, the Cavaliers will now begin preparation for a three-game home series against ACC rival Virginia Tech this weekend.
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