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Softball
Softball Splits DH at No. 14 James Madison
April 4, 2017
Game 1 Box Score | PDF | Game 2 Box Score | PDF
UVA Top Performers
Game 1: Allison Davis – 1-for-2, HR (5)
Game 2: Katie Park – 2-for-3, HR (6), 3 RBI
Game 2: Ashlee Davis – 2-for-3, 2 R, 2B, RBI
Game 2: Erika Osherow – 7.0 IP, 4 R, 3 SO
HARRISONBURG, Va. – Virginia (13-25) picked up its first road win over a ranked opponent since 2011 with a 5-4 win in game two of a doubleheader at No. 14 James Madison (31-6). The Cavaliers split the road doubleheader after dropping game one, 9-1.
A gutty performance in the circle by game two’s starting pitcher Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) kept the James Madison bats quiet for the majority of the contest. She stranded six Duke base runners including the game-tying run at second base in the bottom of the seventh inning. A run driven in by Kaitlin Fitzgerald (Placentia, Calif.) in the top of the seventh proved to be the game-deciding hit.
Virginia’s last win against a ranked opponent was on March 8, 2014 when the Cavaliers bested No. 9 Florida State, 11-9 in Charlottesville. The last win against a ranked foe away from home came on Feb. 26, 2011 against No. 11 Hawaii.
The Cavaliers will wrap up their week tomorrow (April 5) with a doubleheader at George Mason. First pitch in game one is scheduled for 4 p.m.
Game 1: James Madison – 9, Virginia – 1 (6 inn.)
The Dukes starting pitcher, Megan Good, limited the Cavaliers to just two hits in six innings as she improved to 22-1 on the season. She struck out six and did not walk a batter while lowering her season ERA to 0.45.
Good faced the minimum over the first three innings despite a lead-off single by Katie Park (Scottsdale, Ariz.) in the top of the first. She retired 10-straight batters before Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) homered in the top of the fourth to get Virginia on the scoreboard.
The James Madison offense scored in all but one inning and was paced by lead-off hitter Morgan Tolle. The first baseman matched a single-game school record with four hits that included her first home run of the season. She drove in three runs and scored twice.
The Dukes’ Taylor Newton also drove in three runs in a 2-for-3 effort at the plate. Newton hit a two-run homer three-batters after Tolle led the top of the third off with a solo blast.
The game ended in run-rule fashion in the bottom of the sixth when Cambry Arnold plated pinch-runner Mimi Morris with a single for the game-winning run.
Game 2: Virginia – 5, James Madison – 4
After falling behind, 1-0 in the bottom of the fourth, the Cavaliers responded in a big way by plating four runs in their half of the fifth inning. Freshman Ashlee Davis (Gilbert, Ariz.) started the Virginia rally with an RBI double that scored Madison Labshere (El Cajon, Calif.).
A batter later, Park hit one of the longest home runs one could hit at Veterans Memorial Park. She cleared the 20 rows of bleachers in left field to give Virginia a 4-1 lead. The deep homer was her sixth of the season and second in the last four games.
Virginia added an insurance run in the top of the seventh when Fitzgerald singled through the right side with the bases loaded, scoring Ashlee Davis from third.
The run proved crucial as the nationally ranked Dukes did not go away quietly. James Madison strung together three hits including a double off the top of the wall by Good that nearly tied the game. With two outs and the tying run at second, Osherow collected herself and induced the game-ending pop out to secure her eighth win of the season.
Osherow pitched her seventh complete game of the season and struck out three batters. She retired the first nine batters she faced.
Additional Notes
-Allison Davis moved into a tie with teammate Madison Labshere for 10th place all-time on Virginia’s career home run list with 18.
-In her first start since March 10, McKall Miller (Ashburn, Va.) singled in her first at bat in game two.
-Madison Labshere needs one more hit for the 100th for her career. Five others (Katie Park, Allison Davis, Iyana Hughes, Danni Ingraham & Kaitlin Fitzgerald) on the UVA roster have collected 100+ hits in their careers.