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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The Virginia softball team (17-5) welcomes Boston College (8-12) to The Park for a three-game series this weekend, marking the beginning of Atlantic Coast Conference play for both teams. A doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday while the series will conclude at 1 p.m. Sunday.
Virginia is riding a 10-game winning streak and is an undefeated 8-0 at home. The Cavaliers are looking to improve on its 6-15 record in the conference a year ago.
The Cavaliers most recently swept a doubleheader with George Washington on Tuesday, winning the first game 8-2 and the second 6-3. Senior Karla Wilburn improved to 12-1 in the circle while freshman Stephanie Coates moved to 5-2 on the season.
Virginia currently leads the conference in team batting with a .312 average through 22 games Additionally, the Cavaliers have already tied the 2008 mark with 25 home runs. Nicole Koren and Sarah Tacke lead the league with eight home runs apiece.
Koren and Tacke lead Virginia at the plate, each with a .475 average, 28 hits and eight home runs. Tacke’s 33 RBI also leads the team while senior Carly Winger has scored a team-best 24 runs. Coates paces the Virginia pitching staff with a 1.62 ERA, while Wiburn has an ERA of 1.64 and leads the Cavaliers with 64 strikeouts on the season.
Boston College played nine games in six days last week before getting a chance to rest up for ACC competition. The Eagles went 4-5 during the span and most recently fell to Purdue 10-0 last Sunday.
BC ranks seventh in the conference with a .254 team batting average. The Eagles are led at the plate by Amy Tunstall’s .351 average and 14 RBI. Taylor Peyton is hitting .327 while Irene Delagrammat paces Boston College with 21 hits. Petyon also leads the pitching staff with a 1.85 ERA and 42 strikeouts. She is 6-6 on the season.
Virginia trails in the all-time series with Boston College, 6-3. Last season in Chestnut Hill, the Eagles took two-of-three from Virginia.