/
.
Cavaliers Welcome Hokies for Rivalry Series
Story Links
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (19-22, 2-9 ACC) welcomes in-state rival and conference foe Virginia Tech (30-11, 7-5 ACC) for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series this weekend at The Park.
Because of the threat of inclement weather on Saturday, the Cavaliers and Hokies will play a doubleheader Friday at 4 p.m. and 6 p.m. and a single game Saturday at 12 p.m. Live statistics for all games will be available on VirginiaSports.com.
Virginia Athletics will provide free Domino’s pizza and Pepsi products (while supplies last) in between games Friday as part of the softball tailgate. On Saturday, a free postgame youth clinic will be held on the field with members of the Cavalier softball team, weather permitting. Kids in eighth grade and younger are invited to participate.
The Cavaliers split their midweek doubleheader at home against Delaware State, winning the first contest 2-0 before dropping game two, 5-3. In its last conference series, Florida State won two-of-three vs. Virginia in Tallahassee last weekend.
Freshman Stephanie Harris continues to pace the UVa offense with a .331 batting average to go a long with a team-best 24 RBI. Junior Giannina Cipolloni improved her average to .306 and leads the Cavaliers on the basepaths with 26 steals. Freshman Marcy Bowdren adds a .273 average and leads the squad with nine doubles and four home runs to go along with 23 RBI.
Sophomore pitcher Melanie Mitchell, who posts six shutouts on the year, has srtuck out 186 batters in 159 2/3 innings of work. She has a 3.29 ERA on the season.
Virginia Tech earned a 4-1 victory over Radford Wednesday and claimed a win in a three-game set against No. 25 Georgia Tech at home last weekend.
Courtney Little leads the Hokies and ranks second among conference players with a .400 average this season. She also has eight doubles, five home runs and 31 RBI. Teammate Dani Anderson contributes a .383 average with eight doubles, four home runs and 33 RBI.
In the circle, Jasmin Harrell (15-3, 2.52 ERA) has tallied 116 strikeouts in 125 innings of work while Kenzie Roark (13-6, 3.22 ERA), has 104 punchouts in 126 innings.
Virginia Tech leads the all-time series with UVa 23-16. The teams met four times last season, with the Cavaliers earning a sweep in Blacksburg 5-0, 4-3 and 8-3. The Hokies, however, took the ACC Tournament opener 1-0 in eight innings.