Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. The Virginia softball team (17-5, 0-0 ACC) will get its second chance at an Atlantic Coast Conference opener when the Cavaliers hit the road to battle NC State (11-9, 0-0 ACC) this weekend in Raleigh, N.C. A doubleheader is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday before the series concludes at noon Sunday.
Virginia is riding a 10-game winning streak, the longest since 2001. The Cavaliers have already surpassed its win totally from last season (15 wins) and just one win against the Wolfpack would be the most in two years.
The Cavaliers were rained out last weekend at home against Boston College and have not played since sweeping a doubleheader against George Washington, 8-2 and 6-3, back on March 10. Virginia continues to lead the ACC with a .312 team batting average.
Redshirt junior Sarah Tacke and redshirt sophomore Nicole Koren lead UVa at the plate, each with a .475 batting average and eight home runs this season. Tacke’s 33 RBI also lead both the team and the conference. She is riding a nine-game hitting streak and is a combined 18-for-24 in those games for a .750 batting average. She has also homered in Virginia’s last three contests.
NC State, meanwhile, played two games this week after being rained out at Virginia Tech last weekend. The Wolfpack were defeated at home by East Carolina 5-0 on Wednesday but rebounded to defeat Fordham 6-4 at home on Thursday.
Hannah Ojeda leads the NC State offense with a .341 batting average. Alyssa Ishibashi’s .296 average ranks second and she also paces the Wolfpack with a team-best 16 hits. Kristine Bechthol, Bridget Desbois and Allison Presnell each have three home runs and 10 RBI.
Pitcher Lindsay Campana is 5-4 in the circle this season with a 1.28 ERA. She has struck out 70 batters with just 16 walks on the season.
The Wolfpack lead the all-time series with Virginia, 9-8. Last year in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers took two-of-three games to win the series.