Virginia Hosts Georgia Tech to Open ACC Play

March 8, 2018

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia (8-14) welcomes Georgia Tech (11-7) to The Park for the first Atlantic Coast Conference series of the season. First pitch in the series opener is set for 6 p.m. on Friday (March 9).

The series marks the beginning of a seven-game home stand for the Cavaliers, who face Liberty next Wednesday (March 14) before hosting Syracuse the following weekend.

Admission to all Virginia softball home games is free in 2018. In addition, concessions are available for purchase at The Park.

WEEKEND SCHEDULE

Friday, March 9 – 6 p.m. – Flashback Friday 70’s Edition

Saturday, March 10 – 1 p.m. – FREE Virginia beanies while supplies last

Sunday, March 11 – Noon – Kids run the bases and postgame autographs (weather permitting)

GAME COVERAGE

All three games of the series will be carried live on ACC Network Extra. Eileen Schmidt and Melanie Mitchell will have the call.

Links to watch all three games or follow along with live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com.

LEADING OFF

• The Cavaliers took 2-of-3 from the Yellow Jackets last season, igniting a seven-game winning streak that lifted the Hoos into the ACC Tournament.
• Allison Davis (Oak Hill, Va.) carries a historic streak into the weekend, homering in each of the last five games for Virginia. It is the longest known streak in program history.
• A series victory would be the first to open ACC play since 2012 when the Hoos swept Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
• With the addition of Duke, ACC softball will split into two divisions for the next two seasons. The winner of each division is guaranteed a top-two seed in the ACC Tournament.
• Virginia’s nine ACC wins in 2017 were its most since winning 13 in 2010.

SERIES HISTORY

• Virginia and Georgia Tech are meeting for the 81st time on Friday night to open the series.
• The Cavaliers and Yellow Jackets are level at 42-42 in the all-time series, but UVA has won each of the last two series against the Jackets.
• In last season’s meeting in Charlottesville, the Hoos bounced back from a 10-5 loss in the series opener to take the series with 3-2 and 4-2 victories.
• Virginia trailed 2-0 in both games it won, scoring three in the seventh in game two and four in the fifth of game three.

SHORT HOPS

• ACC Co-Player of the Week Allison Davis hit .615 over the weekend and .588 in five games last week to earn the honor.
• Over the last five games, Allison Davis is batting .667 (12-for-18) with 11 RBI.
• Since adding a chinstrap to her helmet 12 games ago, Hayley Busby (Phoenix, Ariz.) is hitting .400 with nine RBI.
• Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) added her 17th RBI of the season this weekend, matching her career high at UVA.
• The Hoos launched five home runs in the victory over UMBC, matching the school record set three times before.
• Virginia notched back-to-back run-rule victories for the first time since February 11, 2016.

UP NEXT

Virginia continues its seven-game home stand by hosting Liberty on Wednesday (March 14). The Hoos will then welcome Syracuse to Charlottesville for a three-game ACC set beginning Friday (March 16).