March 8, 2013

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va.—The Virginia softball team opens 2013 Atlantic Coast Conference play this weekend with a three-game series against Georgia Tech Saturday and Sunday (March 9-10) at The Park. Saturday’s doubleheader starts at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s single game is set to begin at noon.

Admission to all UVa softball games is free to the public. Live stats for all three games will be available and linked through VirginiaSports.com.

The Cavaliers (8-8) come into the series after dropping their last game, 2-1, at UNC Greensboro on March 3. UVa was scheduled to play Seton Hall in a doubleheader in Charlottesville on Wednesday (March 6), but was cancelled due to inclement weather.

Senior Kristen Hawkins (Elizabeth, Pa.), junior Marcy Bowdren (Fairfax Station, Va.) and sophomore Megan Harris (Knoxville, Tenn.) all hold three-game hitting streaks heading into the series with the Yellow Jackets (11-11). Bowdren leads the squad with a .289 batting average, while Harris leads the team with 10 runs scored

Senior pitcher Melanie Mitchell (White Plains, Md.) is closing in on becoming Virginia’s all-time leader in career strikeouts. She has 921, needing 12 to pass Michelle Collins (932). Mitchell also ranks second in complete games (99) and innings pitched (795.2) and fourth in wins (69) and shutouts (22). This year, Mitchell is 6-4 with a 1.49 ERA and 90 strikeouts in 70.2 innings of work.

Georgia Tech comes into this weekend 3-7 in their last 10 games, but defeated Temple, 17-8, in its last outing on March 3. Ashley Thomas leads the squad with a .400 batting average, 30 hits and 16 stolen bases. Hope Rush leads the pitching staff with a 3.66 ERA and eight complete games.

The Cavaliers swept the Yellow Jackets in Atlanta, Ga., last year, but Georgia Tech was victorious in the ACC Tournament, 6-4, in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Up next, UVa hosts James Madison in a mid-week doubleheader on Wednesday, March 13 at 2 p.m. The Cavaliers host Longwood the next day (March 14) in another doubleheader, also set to begin at 2 p.m.