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Softball
Softball Sweeps Doubleheader to Clinch Series
April 22, 2017
Game 1 Box Score | PDF | Game 2 Box Score | PDF
UVA Top Performers
Game 1 – Erika Osherow: 7.0 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO
Game 1 – Lacy Smith 1-for-3, HR (6), 3 RBI
Game 2 – Katie Park: 3-for-5, HR (8), RBI
Game 2 – Kaitlin Fitzgerald: 3-for-4, HR (1), 3 RBIs
Game 2 – McKall Miller: 2-for-4, HR (7), 4 RBIs
SOUTH BEND, Ind. – Virginia (19-29, 7-13 ACC) clinched its second-straight ACC series and are now winners of five-consecutive games after doubleheader sweep of Notre Dame (27-17, 11-9 ACC). The Cavaliers followed up a 6-3 game one victory with a 12-6 win in the nightcap.
The Cavalier offense produced 18 runs on 26 hits and hit five home runs in two games. Single inning rallies of five in game one and seven in game two fueled the offensive explosion. Virginia trailed in both contests erasing deficits of two and three for comeback victories.
The game one win for Virginia was the first ever against Notre Dame in 14 previous tries. The Irish had won all six prior ACC games against the Cavaliers and were 10-1 this season at Melissa Cook Stadium coming into the series.
Virginia will go for its first ACC series sweep since 2012 on Sunday (April 23) with a single game scheduled for noon. The series finale will be streamed live on ACC Network Extra.
Game 1: Virginia – 6, Notre Dame – 3
A five-run second inning provided enough cushion for starting pitcher Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) to record her 12th win of the season. The sophomore right hander tossed her 11th complete game of the season and fanned two batters in the game one victory.
The big second-inning rally that saw nine Cavaliers come to the plate and was ignited by a Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) three-run homer over the left field wall. Her sixth home run of the year nullified the early, 2-0 Irish lead. Danni Ingraham (Laguna Niguel, Calif.) capped the rally with an RBI single that scored Katie Park (Scottsdale, Ariz.).
Ingraham later plated the sixth Cavalier run with RBI double in the top of the fifth inning that also scored Park. It was the her second-straight multi-RBI game and her seventh of the season to move into a tie for the team lead.
Game 2: Virginia – 12, Notre Dame – 6
Virginia sent 11 batters to plate in the top of the fourth inning and scored seven runs to blow the game open. The seven runs in the frame matched a season best. Three of the seven runs came in on a sharp ground ball hit by Ingraham that went between the legs of a Notre Dame second baseman Katie Marino. The ball rolled all the way to the wall and allowed Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.), Park and Madison Labshere (El Cajon, Calif.) all to score.
Ingraham scored on an ensuing single by Miller to make the score 8-5. The next batter, Kaitlin Fitzgerald (Placentia, Calif.), delivered the decisive blow with a line-drive, two-run homer over the left field wall to give the Cavaliers a 10-5 advantage. The home run was her first of the season. Smith finished off the rally a batter later with her second home run of the day to give Virginia an 11-5 lead.
Smith also did her job in the circle, earning her third win of 2017. She struck out three batters in 4.1 innings of relief work. She allowed just two runs and struck out three Irish hitters. Osherow finished the game, recording the final six outs. She allowed two hits and did not walk a batter in her fifth consecutive appearance.
The fourth and final home run of the game came off the bat of Park who hit a solo shot into the left field bleachers in the top of the seventh inning. It was her eighth homer of the season, moving her into a tie with Ingraham for the team lead.
Additional Notes
-Prior to the five-run and seven-run rallies in game one and two respectively, the Cavaliers had only scored five or more runs in a single inning twice this season.
-The Cavaliers turned two double plays in game one, only the second time this season Virginia has turned multiple double plays in the same game (3/21 vs. Towson).
-Senior Kinza Baad scored her first run of the season, pinch-running for Miller in game two.
-The Cavaliers matched a season-high with 13 runners left on base in game one.
-The doubleheader sweep was the second of the season and the first since the second day of the season when Virginia took games against Western Michigan and UTEP on Feb. 10 at the Kajikawa Classic in Arizona.