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Cavaliers Set for Pair of Midweek Doubleheaders
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team will play a pair of midweek doubleheaders beginning Tuesday at Longwood. The Cavaliers then return home to The Park for a two-game tilt with Norfolk State.
Virginia and Longwood will play at 1 and 3 p.m. Tuesday and live stats will be linked online at VirginiaSports.com. The Cavaliers and Spartans are scheduled to play at 4 and 6 p.m.
Virginia is 8-7 on the season and is currently riding a five-game winning streak, including a 4-0 performance over the weekend in the Cavalier Classic. UVa recorded wins over Columbia and Delaware State (each twice) in the opening weekend of play at The Park.
The Cavaliers are led by senior Sarah Tacke, who is hitting .429 and also leads the team with 12 RBI. Fellow seniors Abby Snyder and Nicole Koren are hitting .370 and .351, respectively, while Koren’s five home runs also lead the squad. Freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell has made 12 appearances in the circle and has 60 strikeouts on the season.
Longwood is 9-7 on the season and is coming off a 3-1 weekend at the Wolfpack Challenge in Raleigh, N.C. The Lancers beat Coastal Carolina (9-0), Stony Brook (7-2) and Georgetown (7-1) before falling to NC State (7-2).
Maggie Margadonna leads Longwood with a .449 average and five doubles this season. Brooke Short hits .418 and paces the Lancers with six home runs and 17 RBI on the year. Nichole Simmons also has 17 RBI, including four home runs, this year. Pitcher Briana Wells posts a 2.35 ERA and is 8-3 on the season.
Virginia and Longwood have split every doubleheader for the past four seasons. Last year in Charlottesville, the Cavaliers lost the first game 9-5 but rebounded to win the second 5-1.
Norfolk State is 2-9 this year and is coming off a 0-3 weekend in the Spartan Clash in Norfolk. Casey Pomeroy leads Norfolk State this season with a .294 average while Danielle Wright (.267) and Rebecca Barnes (.233) each have contributed seven RBI. Pitcher Alyssa Velazquez has a 3.11 ERA while limiting opponents to a .277 average.
Virginia leads the all-time series with Norfolk State, 2-0, but the two teams have not met since the 1987 season, when the Cavaliers won both games of a doubleheader in Charlottesville. A doubleheader scheduled for last season was rained out.