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Virginia Takes on NC State Thursday in ACC Championship Quarterfinal
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May 8, 2013
| Virginia vs. NC State (ACC Quarterfinal) | |
| Date/Time | May 8 | 1:30 p.m. |
| Location | Tallahassee, Fla. | JoAnne Graf Field |
| Live Statistics/TV | Gametracker | RSN/ESPN3 |
| Additional Information | Twitter | Facebook |
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The Virginia softball team, the No. 7 seed in the Atlantic Coast Conference Softball Championship, takes on second-seeded NC State in the quarterfinals Thursday (May 9) at JoAnne Graf Field in Tallahassee, Fla. First pitch is slated for 1:30 p.m.
The game will be broadcast live on the conference’s regional sports networks, including Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic in the Charlottesville area, and ESPN3 (subject to blackout in ACC markets). Live statistics will be available and linked through VirginiaSports.com.
The winner will advance to Friday’s semifinal against the winner of third-seeded Maryland and sixth-seeded Virginia Tech. The winner on Friday will advance to Saturday’s championship game.
Tickets are available for $5 for adults and $3 for youth 18 and under for each day. ACC students with a valid school ID get in free.
The Cavaliers (21-27, 4-17 ACC) were swept by the Wolfpack (30-18-1, 13-7 ACC) in a three-game series at The Park in Charlottesville April 20-21 during the regular season.
Last time out, Virginia dropped a three-game series two games to one to Virginia Tech at The Park in Charlottesville April 28-29. VT won the first two games, 6-0 and 5-1, but UVa prevailed in the regular season finale, 7-3, in the program’s first home television broadcast on ESPNU.
Senior Lauren Didlake’s (Bowling Green, Va.) two-run single that scored junior Marcy Bowdren (Fairfax Station, Va.) and freshman Taylor Sarcone (Staten Island, N.Y.) broke a 3-3 tie in the fifth inning and propelled the Cavaliers to victory. Senior Taylor Williams (Woodbridge, Va.) stole two bases and ranks fourth in UVa history with 54 career steals.
Senior pitcher Melanie Mitchell (White Plains, Md.) pitched the 116th complete game of her career for the UVa win. Mitchell is 16-16 on the season with a 2.59 ERA and 265 strikeouts in 211.0 innings of work. Her 265 strikeouts rank as the sixth-highest mark in a UVa single season. With four strikeouts, Mitchell would join Angela Tincher (VT 2005-08), Jessica Sallinger (GT 2002-05) and Crystal Cox (UNC 2003-06) as the only ACC pitchers to record 1,100 career strikeouts.
In eight career starts against the Wolfpack, Mitchell is 5-3 with a 1.12 ERA and 56 strikeouts in 56.0 innings.
NC State is riding a nine-game winning streak and has won 16 out of its last 18 games. Renada Davis is tied for the national lead with 24 home runs, while Emily Weiman (28-16) is tied for third nationally in wins.
This will be the first matchup between the schools in the ACC Championship.
List of ACC’s Regional Sports Networks
Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic
FoxSports Arizona
FoxSports Florida
FoxSports North Plus
FoxSports Prime Ticket
FoxSports San Diego
FoxSports South
NESN