Cavaliers Set School Record with 11th ACC Win
Story Links
CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – The Virginia softball team (31-18, 11-5 ACC) won both games of a doubleheader over Boston College (14-27, 0-14 ACC) to set a school record with its 11th Atlantic Coast Conference win of the year. The Cavaliers defeated the Eagles 13-1 in five innings before winning the second game 6-4.
Virginia previously won nine conference games during the 2005 campaign, which also marks the last time the Cavaliers won 30 games in a season. The 2005 squad went 31-32 overall and was 9-8 in conference play.
Virginia hit five home runs in the first game against the Eagles, also setting a school record. Senior Abby Snyder went yard twice while Alison Pittman, Kristen Hawkins and Alexa Martinez also hit home runs. It was the first career long ball for both Pittman and Martinez.
In the second game, senior Sarah Tacke hit three home runs in her first three at bats, marking yet another Virginia school record. Previously, two home runs in one game had been done 11 times, with the last being Nicole Koren’s two homers vs. South Dakota State last season.
With three home runs on the day, Tacke took over sole possession of second place with 30 career home runs. Sara Larquier (2003-06) is all-time leader with 35 career homers.
Freshman pitcher Melanie Mitchell picked up both wins in the circle for the Orange and Blue, marking her 23rd and 24th victories of the year. She recorded five strikeouts in game one and 11 in game two.
In the first game, the Cavaliers outhit BC 11-3. In addition to Snyder’s two home runs and a double, eight other Cavaliers notched hits.
Virginia picked up three runs in the first. Skinkis, Koren and Tacke each walked to load the bases. Skinkis scored on a wild pitch for a 1-0 lead; Koren took third and Tacke moved up to second. Clara Kendall then ripped a RBI single up to middle, scoring Koren and Tacke, to make it 3-0 Virginia.
Snyder led off the second inning with a solo shot to left center to put UVa up 4-0.
Virginia picked up four more runs in the third inning. Tacke led off with a single and Giannina Cipolloni walked. The next batter, Kendall, hit a grounder to the pitcher on a fielder’s choice, but Cipolloni was called safe at second with BC’s foot off the bag. With the bases loaded, pinch hitter Kennedy Byxbee grounded out to second for an RBI with Tacke scoring on the play. Snyder then stepped to the plate and belted her second home run of the game as the ball lined over the top of the fence in left. The three-run homer gave Virginia an 8-0 lead.
BC got a run back in the bottom of the third. Irene Delagrammaticas led off with a single up the middle and Taylor Peyton followed with a walk. With one out, Allie Thurston beat out an infield single to load the bases. The next batter, Amy Tunstall, grounded out to second, scoring Delagrammaticas on the play. Thurston overran second and Peyton was eventually chased down at home to end the inning.
The Cavaliers went yard three times in the fifth inning and scored four runs on four hits. Cipolloni led off with a single up the middle. With one out, Pittman homered to center. Snyder followed with a double to right and scored on Martinez’s pinch-hit home run to left. Hawkins then homered to center for two consecutive pinch-hit bombs.
Both teams compiled seven hits in game two. Tacke was 3-for-4 with five RBI; Skinkis, Koren, Cipolloni and Williams each contributed singles in the winning effort.
The Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead in the second inning. Tacke led off with a solo shot to center. With one out, Kendall walked and stole second. She scored on a BC fielding error when Abby Snyder hit a ground ball to the right side.
The Eagles got a run back in the bottom of the second. Brittany Wilkins led off with a single to center and was sacrificed over to second by teammate Maria Pandolfo. The next batter, Alison Kooistra, ripped a single to right, scoring Wilkins from second.
Virginia collected three runs in the third, thanks to Tacke’s three-run homer to left center.
BC again chipped away at UVa’s lead. Renee Ramos hit a solo homer to right field in the bottom of the third to make it 5-2 in favor of Virginia.
Tacke led off the fifth with a solo home run to right; BC would score two runs in the fifth but was held scoreless for the next two innings.
The two teams conclude the series with a 12 p.m. game Sunday.