Tacke, Mitchell Collect ACC Weekly Honors

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Senior Sarah Tacke was named the ACC Player of the Week and freshman Melanie Mitchell was selected as the ACC Pitcher of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the conference office.

Virginia went 4-2 last week with doubleheader sweeps over Norfolk State at home and at Maryland over the weekend to open conference play. Virginia beat the Terrapins 5-3 and 3-1 for its first series win against Maryland since the 2006 season.

Tacke batted .562 (9-for-16) in six games with four multi-hit performances for Virginia. Against Longwood, recorded three hits in three at-bats and was a combined 4-for-6 with two doubles, three RBI, and one run scored in a sweep of Norfolk State. Tacke went 2-for-4 with a season-high three RBI in Virginia’s 5-3 ACC-opening win against Maryland (Mar. 14), and currently ranks second in the ACC with a .471 batting average, .784 slugging percentage, and .576 on-base percentage.

Mitchell started four games over the week, including both ends of the doubleheader against Maryland, and posted a 3-1 mark. Her first victory of the week came in a 3-2 win against Norfolk State, the second game of the day, in which the White Plains, Md., native allowed just two earned runs on one hit, while striking out a season-high 16 batters in a complete game outing. Working two games in the same day, Mitchell went 2-0 against the Terps, allowing four earned runs over 14 innings pitched, while fanning 15 batters. This season, Mitchell is fifth in the ACC with 96 strikeouts.

It is the first career conference honor for Mitchell and the third for Tacke, who earned the honor twice last season.

The Cavaliers will play in the Judi Garman Invitational beginning Thursday in Fullerton, Calif. Virginia opens the tournament against No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette at 9 a.m. PDT (12 p.m. EDT).