Virginia Softball Splits DH with NC State
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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (26-18, 8-5 ACC) split a doubleheader with NC State (25-20, 8-6 ACC) Saturday at The Park. Sophomore Giannina Cipolloni’s three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning lifted the Cavaliers to a 4-1 win in game one, but the Wolfpack claimed game two by a score of 9-0.
Virginia’s victory in the first game of the day gave the squad its eighth conference win of the season, the second-most in school history and the most since the 2005 team finished with nine league wins.
In game one, both teams put up a run in the sixth inning, and had scoring opportunities in the seventh. The Wolfpack led off the inning with a hit but left a runner stranded on second; the Cavaliers put a rally together but senior Abby Snyder was thrown out at home trying to score on an Alex Skinkis single to send the contest into extra innings.
The eight and ninth innings finished scoreless, and UVa retired NC State in the 10th.
Skinkis led off the 10th with a single up the middle and moved to second on Alexa Martinez’s sacrifice bunt. Skinkis then moved to third on a wild pitch. The next batter, Sarah Tacke, was intentionally walked to put runners on the corners.
Cipolloni stepped to the plate and belted the ball over the right field fence, her first of the season and the fourth of her career, to give Virginia the win in game one.
Freshman Melanie Mitchell threw all 10 innings to pick up her 20th win of the season. She allowed one run, which was unearned, on five hits and fanned seven.
Lindsay Campana took the loss for the Wolfpack. She threw 9 2/3 innings and tallied four walks and seven strikeouts.
The Cavaliers recorded six hits in the winning effort; Skinkis had two singles and Tacke tripled. Nicole Koren and Abby Snyder also tallied singles in the contest.
NC State took game two, 9-0, highlighted by a three-run sixth and four-run seventh. The Wolfpack outhit Virginia 13-2 in the game; Tacke singled and Clara Kendall doubled.
Stephanie Coates took the loss for the Cavaliers in the circle. She threw 6 1/3 innings and allowed five runs on 10 hits the four strikeouts. Koren pitched the additional 2/3 innings, giving up four runs on three hits.
NC State’s Stephanie Call earned the victory; she struck out three batters in the shutout.
The series between UVa and NC State concludes at 1 p.m. Sunday. All kids 12 and under are invited to participate in a postgame clinic with the Cavaliers. Following the clinic, the softball team will be signing autographs.