Virginia Cruises Past Furman for Eighth-Straight Victory

GREENVILLE, S.C. – Virginia (13-9) extended its winning streak to eight games, the longest since 2012, with a 10-1 run-rule victory over Furman (7-16) at Pepsi Softball Stadium on Wednesday (March 13) night.
 
Senior Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) went 3-for-3 with a home run and double to set the tone at the plate. Her two-run home run was the ninth of the season for Smith, setting a new single-season high for the first baseman. She also extended her hitting streak to 12 games.
 
In the circle, Aly Rayle (Herndon, Va.) made the most of her run support to improve to 5-1 on the season. The freshman worked four innings and allowed just a single run on four hits. Rayle fanned four and issued just a single walk in the dominant victory.

KEY INNING
A one-out double from Hayley Busby (Phoenix, Ariz.) sparked a four-run third for Virginia. Smith uncorked her career-best ninth home run of the season to plate a pair and make it 3-0. Three batters later, Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) added a two-run blast of her own to extend the lead to 5-0.

 TOUCHING HOME
• Smith and Olivia Gott (Weston, Fla.) ripped back-to-back doubles in the first inning to put Virginia on the board early.
• Smith and Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.) each blasted two-run home runs in the top of the third inning to extend the Cavalier lead to 5-0.
• A double from Sarah Windham and a triple from Cammy Pereira put Furman on the board in the bottom half of the third, scoring a single run.
• Emma McBride (Magnolia, Texas) recorded her second-career RBI with a sacrifice fly in the fourth. Busby followed suit with a sac fly of her own to give Virginia a 7-1 advantage.
• Ashlee Davis (Gilbert, Ariz.) plated a pair with a double off the third-base bag and Kate Covington (McLean, Va.) scored on a wild pitch to make it a 10-1 lead in the fifth.

ON THE LINES
• Smith, Osherow and Davis all had two RBI days for the Cavaliers.
• With the win, Virginia eclipses its 2018 win total in just 22 games this season.
• Virginia’s two home runs bring its season-long total to 30.
•Molly Keshin (New Canaan, Conn.) swiped her 12th base of the year.
• Osherow closed the game in the circle, working a scoreless fifth inning.

UP NEXT
Virginia returns to ACC action with a three-game series at Georgia Tech beginning on Friday (March 15). All three games of the series will air on ACC Network Extra.