Virginia Hosts George Washington Wednesday

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March 19, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The Virginia softball team hosts George Washington in a single game Wednesday evening (March 20) at The Park. First pitch is scheduled for 6 p.m. The two teams were originally scheduled to play in early February in Buies Creek, N.C., as part of the Campbell/Hampton Inn Invitational, but that game was postponed due to inclement weather.

Admission to Virginia softball games at The Park are free to the public and live stats will be available and linked through VirginiaSports.com.

Virginia (11-12) comes into the game with a two-game winning streak after sweeping Longwood last Thursday (March 14). The Cavaliers came from behind in both games, scoring five runs in the bottom of the sixth in game one to win 5-3, and posting three runs in the bottom of the ninth in game two for an 8-7 victory.

Junior Marcy Bowdren (Fairfax Station, Va.) leads the Cavaliers with a .343 batting average and is currently riding a 10-game hitting streak. Since the streak began on March 1, when the streak began, Bowdren is hitting .419 with three home runs. Senior Kristen Hawkins (Elizabeth, Pa.) is even hotter at the plate with a .423 average and six extra base hits in that 10-game span.

In the circle, senior Melanie Mitchell (White Plains, Md.) broke the Virginia all-time strikeout record and currently has 959 in her career. She also has 72 wins, which is tied for second and just two shy of Lisa Palmer’s record (74).

Mitchell will break the UVa career complete games record with her next start-to-finish outing. She is currently tied with Palmer with 102 complete games. This season, Mitchell is 9-7 on the season with a 2.27 ERA and 128 strikeouts in 105.0 innings of work.

The Cavaliers travel to College Park, Md., for a three-game series with ACC rival Maryland March 23-24. Saturday’s doubleheader and Sunday’s single game are both slated for 1 p.m. starts.