After concluding a successful homestand, it was a disappointing weekend for Virginia softball, which travelled to Tallahassee and was swept by No. 10 Florida State in a three-game series. The Cavaliers fell to 15-36 (4-17 ACC), while the Seminoles improved to 37-11 (17-3 ACC).
Florida State pounded the Cavaliers’ pitching, scoring 25 runs over three games, while stifling Virginia’s offense, allowing only one run and pitching two shutouts.
At the beginning of the first game, Virginia held its own. Although the Seminoles scored runs in the first and third innings, the Cavaliers manufactured a run on a fielding error to cut the Florida State lead to one in the top of the fifth frame.
However, defense continued to be an issue for Virginia, as errors on consecutive plays allowed the Seminoles to plate two unearned runs and take a 4-1 lead.
The game ended in the bottom of the sixth after Florida State erupted for five runs. Another Cavalier error allowed the leadoff batter to reach third base and then score on an RBI groundout, before the Seminoles mashed a home run to left field to widen their lead to 6-1. Then, Victoria East ended the game by tripling to left center, clearing the bases and enacting the mercy rule as the Seminoles claimed the 9-1 victory.
Florida State again jumped to an early lead in the second game, tripling to score two runners in the bottom of the first to take a 2-0 lead. Seminole pitcher Jessica Burroughs shut down the Cavaliers throughout the game, only allowing one hit on a single to sophomore outfielder Iyana Hughes in the top of the first. Junior pitcher Aimee Chapdelaine also performed effectively on the circle for the Cavaliers, keeping the Seminoles scoreless after the first inning and keeping the Cavaliers in the game.
However, Florida State’s bats came alive again in the sixth inning, when they tallied five hits, two walks and took advantage of a Cavalier error to plate six runs and conclude the game prematurely with an 8-0 victory.
The series finale brought more struggles for for the Cavaliers, who were only able to muster two hits during the entire game. Florida State again took the early lead, tacking on four runs in the first two innings to take a 4-0 lead. Freshman pitcher Alex Formby settled down during the third and fourth frames, but the Seminoles continued their trend of big innings by putting four on the board in the fifth. Florida State drew three walks and knocked three hits, including the game-ending RBI single by Jessica Warren, to win 8-0 and seal the sweep of Virginia.
The events of the weekend certainly complicate Virginia’s postseason ambitions, as the team is currently two games behind Georgia Tech in the conference standings, which looks to be the No. 8 seed in the ACC tournament. The Cavaliers will play its last conference series next weekend in New York as it competes against Syracuse.
In the meantime, the Cavaliers will look to bounce back as they compete against Liberty in a doubleheader in Lynchburg Wednesday.
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