Softball Slated for Six Weekend Contests

Feb. 16, 2017

CHARLESTON, S.C. ÃÆ’¢Ãƒ¢’¬” The second week of Virginia softball (2-3) commences on Friday at the Charleston Southern Buccaneer Invitational. The Cavaliers will play two doubleheaders in Charleston before traveling to Elon (3-0) on Sunday for a non-conference twin bill.

Virginia will play ETSU (4-1) and tournament-host Charleston Southern (2-5) on Friday afternoon beginning at 10 a.m. The Cavaliers stay in Charleston will conclude with contests against ETSU and UNC Wilmington (0-0) on Saturday at 9 a.m. On the way back to Charlottesville, Head Coach Joanna Hardin’s club will stop off at Elon University for a double dip at noon with the Phoenix.

Live stats will be available for all six games and Sunday’s contests will also be shown live on Phoenix All-Access.

The Cavaliers will be back on the diamond after a 2-3 performance at last weekend’s Kajikawa Classic hosted by Arizona State. After losses to then-No. 9 Oregon and host Arizona State on opening day, the Cavaliers rebounded with wins over Western Michigan and UTEP on Saturday. The 9-8, eight-inning victory over Western Michigan was the first of Hardin’s tenure at Virginia. The comeback win featured a seven-run, sixth inning and a total of nine unanswered runs by the Cavaliers.

In the tournament finale, San Jose State used a combined shutout by Katelyn Linford and Colette Riggs to escape with a 1-0 victory. The Cavaliers left eight runners on base including the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh inning.

At the plate, Virginia is tied for fourth in the ACC with 37 hits. Junior Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) leads the team with nine base knocks and is second on the team with a .450 batting average. Senior McKall Miller (Ashburn, Va.) is responsible for five of the team’s 15 extra-base hits including a team-best, two home runs. Her .500 batting average (7-for-14) is the fifth-highest in the ACC.

The Cavaliers put the ball in play against two of the top pitching staffs in the country last weekend. Against nationally-ranked Oregon, Virginia collected 11 hits and hung six runs on Ducks. In the same game, Davis racked up three doubles, tying a Virginia single-game, school record. Arizona State, an NCAA Regional team a year ago, did not record a strikeout against the Cavaliers in the nightcap.

In the circle, Virginia received standout performances from Lexi Mettler (Turlock, Calif.) and Davis in the tournament’s final game against San Jose State. Mettler surrendered only an unearned run in her first start of the year and scattered three hits in four innings of work. Davis finished the job by pitching the final three innings of no-hit softball. She sports a team-low, 1.17 ERA in six innings of relief work.

The six games away from Charlottesville this weekend are part of a 16-game road swing to start the season for the Cavaliers. After participating in the East Carolina Pirate Invitational Feb. 24-26, Virginia will host Virginia Tech in a three-game series at The Park on March 3-5.