Virginia Sweeps Hokies for First Time Since ?98

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BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Virginia softball team (18-13, 5-0 ACC) completed a sweep over Virginia Tech (13-20, 2-4 ACC) Sunday with an 8-3 victory at Tech Softball Park in Blacksburg, Va. It marks the first time since 1998 – the first season the two teams met – the Cavaliers have swept the Hokies.

Junior Lauren McCaskey and senior Sarah Tacke each had a pair of hits in the win as the Cavaliers and Hokies both finished with eight hits.

Freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell won all three games on the weekend for the Orange and Blue. On Sunday, she recorded six strikeouts against the Hokies. It was her 14th win of the season in the circle.

UVa jumped out to an early lead, scoring six runs in the first. Giannina Cipolloni led off with a single to right field and moved over to second on a McCaskey sacrifice bunt. Nicole Koren reached on a walk and Tacke singled up the middle to score Cipolloni. Alex Skinkis reached on a Tech error, which also scored Koren. Tacke would come in to score on Clara Kendall’s RBI single up the middle. Skinkis and Kendall both had some solid base running and took advantage of Hokie mistakes to score. Abby Snyder, who reached on an error, came in on a Taylor Williams double.

The Cavaliers put up two more runs in the second. McCaskey led off with a single to left. She scored on Tacke’s two-run homer. Virginia Tech got three runs back in the third, thanks to a three-run home run from Richelle McGarva.

In the top of the seventh, the umpires called for the tarp. After a 36-minute delay the teams the teams took the field. The Cavaliers scored two runs on walks and wild pitches and the game was finally called. The score reverted back to the last completed inning, ending at 8-3.

Virginia is back in action at 6 p.m. Wednesday at James Madison.