Everything seems to be in place this year for the Virginia softball team. Stacked with both power hitters and elite pitchers, the squad looks like the best Virginia has seen in years.
The Cavaliers (4-0) plowed through the East Carolina Pirate Classic this past weekend, out-scoring their four opponents 29-5. Coach Eileen Schmidt, in her fifth season with Virginia, characterized the team as comfortable and confident.
"Confident - I think that's a good word for us this year from the very start," Schmidt said. "That's been seen in the way we've carried ourselves this year and the way we've gone about our business and opened up the season. We're very confident in knowing what our role is and going out there and going after it."
Confidence is what the team needs after disappointing results last season. After a strong start, Virginia finished 24-31 in 2011 and failed to make the NCAA tournament after going 34-23 and making the tournament in 2010.
Injuries, especially on the pitching mound, plagued last year's squad throughout the season. At one point in the season current sophomore second baseman Erica Cipolloni even stepped up to pitch. By the time key players such as current junior pitcher Melanie Mitchell returned to form, it was too late. Still, the Cavaliers managed one highlight on the season with an upset of No. 1 seed Georgia Tech in the ACC tournament.
"We had some significant injuries from last year," Schmidt said. "Mel went down for about three weeks, and she probably didn't get fully healthy until about the last three weeks of the season. Then she was able to get back into the swing of things with her pitching and her rhythm and her conditioning. Then it all came together again - unfortunately at the ACC tournament, where we looked like how we started."
This year, with everyone healthy again, the players feel they can achieve the results they were capable of last season.
"There's definitely a difference with the team this year," Cipolloni said. "We're a lot more comfortable with the positions we are in. Last year we were in a situation where we had to play in positions that we weren't recruited in, and we all had to adapt to what we were placed in."
The results this year already show Virginia's newfound confidence and comfort. Mitchell has two wins and 21 strikeouts in her two starts so far, while freshman pitcher Rachel Gillen has recorded two wins with nine strikeouts of her own.
"Our pitching is strong and healthy," Schmidt said. "When you're getting seven to eight strikeouts a game, that's seven to eight fewer balls that you're fielding. You can then focus more on the offensive side of production."
Virginia's hitting has matched its pitching. Just hours after an impressive 7-2 victory against Canisius Saturday, the Cavaliers put up 14 runs against Drexel and forced the game to end after just five innings.
Cipolloni leads the team with three home runs and eight hits so far, and junior catcher Kristin Hawkins enjoyed an impressive showing against Canisius where she hit 4-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs.
"It felt good," Hawkins said. "It was a great way to open the season up. I just had a really good day, and I felt good. Our whole team felt good."
With one strong weekend under their belt and everything which ailed them last year long gone, the Cavaliers look ready for the rest of the spring.
"Our motto right now is just 'Be Successful,'" Hawkins said. "Obviously we're looking for wins, but we want to be successful while doing it and just kill it."
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