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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (25-17, 2-12 ACC) will close the regular season this weekend with a three-game series at No. 18 Florida State (35-13, 11-4 ACC). The two teams will play a doubleheader at 4 p.m. Saturday followed by a noon game on Sunday.
The Cavaliers will look to finish the season on a high note after being swept by Georgia Tech at home last weekend.
Redshirt junior Sarah Tacke continues to lead the team from various spots in the lineup and had a solid performance against Georgia Tech. Her team-high batting average of .376 is sixth in the ACC and she is tied for second in home runs behind teammate Nicole Koren. Koren has added an element of power for the Cavaliers all season with 12 home runs and 34 RBI.
In the circle, senior Karla Wilburn is 17-8 this year with an ERA of 3.05 over 153.2 innings pitched. Stephanie Coates will likely pick up where Wilburn leaves off and has also thrown well this season with an ERA of 2.65 and has held her opponents to a batting average of .243.
Florida State, meanwhile, has won six straight, with back-to-back sweeps over NC State and Maryland. Kaleigh Rafter leads the Seminoles with a batting average of .361, 53 hits, nine home runs and 33 RBI. FSU also boasts speed on the base paths with three players with 10 or more steals.
The Seminoles feature two solid pitchers in Sarah Hamilton and Terese Gober. Hamilton 13-5 with an ERA of 1.04 while Gober is 22-8 with an ERA of 1.14 this season. Hamilton has thrown 141 innings this season and has racked up 211 strikeouts while allowing opponents a batting average of .176.
Florida State leads the all-time series with Virginia, 59-15. The Seminoles have won the last seven games against the Cavaliers, including a three-game sweep last year in Charlottesville.