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Softball
Virginia Meets Old Foe Maryland
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia softball (14-11, 4-2 ACC) renews its series with former ACC-rival Maryland (16-11, 0-0 B1G) on Tuesday (March 19) with a trip to College Park, Md.
First pitch between the Cavaliers and Terrapins is set for 4 p.m.
GAME COVERAGE
Fans can follow the game through live stats on Tuesday. A link to live stats is posted on VirginiaSports.com.
HOOS SINGLES
• Tuesday’s trip to Maryland caps a six-game road swing for Virginia.
• Senior Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) went 7-for-10 over the weekend at Georgia Tech and hit her 10th and 11th home runs of the season.
• Freshman Tori Gilbert (Mechanicsville, Va.) launched her first career home run, a three-run shot, to spark Sunday’s victory at Georgia Tech.
• Smith’s 15-game hitting streak is the longest in Virginia softball history.
SMITH SENSATIONAL
• Smith leads the Cavaliers in batting average, RBI, home runs, slugging and on-base percentage.
• She hit her ninth home run of the year at Furman (3/13) to set a new career high in just 22 games.
• Smith now has 11 home runs on the season, two shy of tying the Virginia single-season record.
• She produced a career day in the finale at Georgia Tech with a 4-for-4 performance including a home run and double.
• Smith is slugging 1.065 in the past 10 games with six homers, three doubles and 15 RBI.
• Her solo home run in the finale at Georgia Tech set a new career high as her 29th RBI of the season. She is on pace to challenge the school record for RBI in a single season, set at 58 by Kristen Dennis in 2002.
THAT ACC START
• Virginia’s 4-2 start in ACC play is the best for the Cavaliers since opening 6-0 in 2010.
• It’s only the fourth time this century that Virginia has opened league action with a 4-2 mark or better.
• Virginia sits third in the ACC standings after the first two weeks of play.
GILBERT GETS GOING
• Gilbert has made the most of her recent opportunity to move into the starting line up.
• In her past nine games, she has gone 7-for-21 (.333) with eight runs scored.
• She sparked Virginia in Sunday’s win at Georgia Tech with her first career home run, a three-run shot in the second inning.
• Gilbert has struck out just four times in that stretch after having four in her first six collegiate at-bats.
IN THE RANKINGS
• Virginia ranks 20th in the country in HR/G averaging 1.32. The mark is third in the ACC.
• Virginia is 25th in slugging percentage at .513 on the season.
• Smith ranks 10th nationally in home runs and is second in the ACC with her 11.
• At .975, Smith is fifth in the country and leads the ACC in slugging percentage.
• Smith is 12th in the country with her 40 hits this season.
• Graduate student Allyson Frei (Branchville, N.J.) is 57th in the country and fourth in the ACC with 8.2 K/7.
• Sophomore Molly Keshin (New Canaan, Conn.) ranks 30th in the country with 12 stolen bases.
VERSUS MARYLAND
• Virginia and Maryland renew an old rivalry for the first time since 2013.
• The Cavaliers and Terps met in every season from 1995-2013 as ACC foes.
• Virginia holds a 32-24 edge in the series, but Maryland has captured the past eight meetings.
• As ACC foes, the series was a perfectly even 21-21.
• Virginia is 15-11 all-time in College Park.
UP NEXT
Virginia returns home to host Duke in ACC action this weekend at The Park. The series opener is set for 5 p.m. on Friday (March 22).