Bats Lead Virginia to Two Wins

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia softball (8-9) rode red-hot hitting on Saturday (March 2) night to earn a pair of wins in the Cavalier Classic. The Cavaliers run-rule Norfolk State 10-2 in six innings before rolling 11-4 over Buffalo.
 
Due to anticipated weather on Sunday (March 3), Virginia will now play a doubleheader against Norfolk State at 9 a.m. The two games will conclude the Cavalier Classic.
 
GAME 1: Virginia 10, Norfolk State 2 (6 Inn.)
 Virginia tallied double-digits in the run column for the second consecutive game to earn a 10-2 run-rule victory over Norfolk State (5-7) at The Park.
 
The Cavaliers racked up 12 hits in a perfectly balanced attack, as six players recorded two hits in the win. Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) drove in three runs while Kate Covington (McLean, Va.) and Arizona Ritchie (Stafford, Va.) each homered.
 
Aly Rayle (Herndon, Va.) worked three innings in relief to earn her third victory of the season. She struck out four and allowed just an infield single in improving to 3-1 on the year.

KEY INNING 
Norfolk State got the tying run to third with no outs in the top of the fourth before Rayle entered out of the bullpen and recorded three-straight outs, including a pair of strikeouts. Virginia carried the momentum into the bottom half, scoring five runs to build an 8-2 lead. Ritchie sparked the inning with her first collegiate home run and Smith capped it with a three-run blast, her sixth of the season.

TOUCHING HOME
• Gabby Vaughn drove a two-out single into center field in the opening inning to give Norfolk State an early lead.
• Virginia answered with a pair of singles from Smith and Olivia Gott (Weston, Fla.) to take a 2-1 lead. Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.) drove home one of the two Cavalier runs on a groundout.
• Jade Dixon tied the game in the second with a solo home run for the Spartans.
• Virginia center fielder Kate Covington hit her second career home run in the bottom half of the second to put the Cavaliers back in front, 3-2.
• Ritchie jumped a 2-0 pitch and drove a no-doubter over the wall in left to jumpstart the fourth.
• Hayley Busby (Phoenix, Ariz.) lifted a sacrifice fly to score another run before Smith uncorked her three-run shot to finish the frame.
• In the sixth inning, Busby lifted her second sac fly of the day and Gott dropped a walk-off single down the right field line to produce the 10-2 run-rule.

ON THE LINES
• Covington homered for the second time on the day after hitting her first career blast in the morning continuation against Buffalo.
• Gott finished 2-for-4 with a pair of RBI in the game.
• Bailey Winscott (Clinton, Miss.) went 2-for-2 at the plate and scored twice.
• Ashlee Davis (Gilbert, Ariz.), Smith, Ritchie and Covington all finished with two hits as well.
 
GAME 2: Virginia 11, Buffalo 4
Virginia’s bats stayed hot, as the Cavaliers eclipsed double-digit runs for a third-straight game in topping Buffalo (1-13) 11-4 in the nightcap.
 
The Cavaliers hit three home runs in the first two innings to hang nine runs on the board in the early going. Virginia would add two more runs in the third inning to plate all 11 of its runs in the first three frames.
 
KEY INNING 
Virginia put the game away with a six-run second inning. Hayley Busby sparked the big frame with a solo home run. Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) and Ashlee Davis both added RBI-singles in the inning. Abigail Barber (Providence Forge, Va.) and Rachel Keshin (New Canaan, Conn.) both had sacrifice flies in the frame.
 
TOUCHING HOME
• Virginia lifted back-to-back home runs in the first inning as Smith’s two-run shot and Gott’s solo homer gave the Cavaliers a 3-0 lead.
• Buffalo struck back with a run in the second on Anna Aguon’s solo home run.
• Busby led off the third with a home run and Virginia scored six runs in the inning to build a 9-1 lead.
• Osherow laced another RBI-single to center and Madi Wilson (Chesapeake, Va.) picked up her first-career RBI to make it 11-1 Virginia in the third.
• Buffalo scored one in the fourth and two in the top of the fifth to make it 11-4.
 
ON THE LINES
• Osherow finished 3-for-3 in the game with two RBI.
• Smith and Davis each went 2-for-2 with two runs driven home.
• Smith’s home run was her seventh of the year, surpassing her season-long total from 2018.
• Aly Rayle made the start in the circle and went two innings, allowing just a solo home run while striking out two. She did not qualify for the decision.
• Clare Zureich (Cary, N.C.) earned the win in relief, allowing three runs in three innings. She struck out five but issued four walks in the outing.

UP NEXT
Virginia is scheduled to conclude the Cavalier Classic on Sunday with a doubleheader at 9 a.m. against Norfolk State.