Softball Goes 1-1 on Second Day of Pirate Invite

Feb. 25, 2017

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GREENVILLE, N.C. — Eight different Cavaliers registered a hit in a 7-3, game-two victory over tournament-host, ECU (6-6) as Virginia (7-8) earned a doubleheader split on the second day of the ECU Pirate Invitational. Seton Hall (4-2) emerged with a 4-2 victory over the Cavaliers in the first game of the day.

A total team effort, paired with a career-start in the circle by Lexi Mettler (Turlock, Calif.), helped avenge yesterday’s loss to ECU. Mettler went the distance, tossing her first career complete game. She had her no-hitter broken up in the fourth inning and allowed only three earned runs in her second win in as many days. She also came on and pitched 1.2 innings of scoreless relief against Seton Hall in the first contest of the day.

Among the eight different Cavaliers to record a hit in game two was Danni Ingraham (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) who blasted her second home run of the weekend. Junior Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) was inches away from her fifth homer of the season but instead recorded her first career triple that brought home two runs and ultimately put the game out of reach in the top of the sixth.

Virginia will conclude its stay in Greenville tomorrow (Feb. 26) with a single-game against Coppin State. First pitch is scheduled for 11:45 at ECU Softball Stadium.

Game 1 – Seton Hall

A three-run, third inning proved to the difference in the ball game for Seton Hall. The rally was powered by a two-run homer by Darby Pandolfo. The Pirates added a run in the top of the sixth when Alexis Waldken alertly scored from third base on a caught stealing attempt at second base.

Making her first career start, freshman Ashlee Davis (Gilbert, Ariz.) singled home Madison Labshere (El Cajon, Calif.) in the bottom of the second to give UVA the initial lead.

Senior McKall Miller (Ashburn, Va.) was able to pull Virginia within a run in the bottom of the third with an RBI single that scored Iyana Hughes (Manteca, Calif.). The RBI was her eighth of the season, the third-most on the team.

Seton Hall starting pitcher Chrisa Head pitched five innings of relief and did not surrender a run. She struck out four batters and limited the Cavaliers to three hits for her first victory of the year.

Game 2 – ECU

In a complete reversal of last night’s, 10-1 loss to ECU, Virginia never trailed in the contest and used a pair of three-run rallies to seal its seventh victory of the season.

With a 1-0 lead going into the Virginia half of the fourth, Kaitlin Fitzgerald (Placentia, Calif.) and Labshere delivered back-to-back, two-out hits to extend the Cavalier advantage to, 4-0. Labshere’s single brought home two runs as she has now reached base in all but two games this season.

Mettler endured some tough luck and allowed three runs to cross in the bottom of the fifth on a sacrifice fly and a bloop single by Ciara Ervin to left field. Ervin’s base knock was one of only four on the day given up by Mettler.

Ingraham led the sixth off with her third home run of the season and gave the Cavaliers a two-run cushion. It marked the eighth lead-off homer of the season for Virginia. Four batters later Davis issued the crushing blow, a triple that hit the top of the fence in left field, scoring Fitzgerald and Labshere.