Virginia Visits North Carolina in ACC Tilt

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CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia softball (16-18, 5-7 ACC) continues its eight-game road swing with a weekend trip to North Carolina (19-13, 8-4 ACC) for a three-game Atlantic Coast Conference series at Anderson Stadium.
 
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
Friday, April 5 – 6 p.m.
Saturday, April 6 – Noon
Sunday, April 7 – 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
All three games of the series will air on ACC Network Extra, available to authenticated subscribers through WatchESPN and the ESPN app. Links to the broadcasts and live stats for all three games are available on VirginiaSports.com.
 
HOOS SINGLES
• Sophomore Hayley Busby (Phoenix, Ariz.) ranks second in the ACC and 17th in the country with 12 doubles on the year.
• Senior Lacy Smith (Lancaster, Pa.) will break Virginia’s single-season home run record with her next long ball.
• Freshman Aly Rayle (Herndon, Va.) tossed her first complete game on Tuesday night at Liberty.
• Virginia homered six times in the 2018 meeting with the Tar Heels, including long balls from Olivia Gott (Weston, Fla.), Erika Osherow (Darien, Conn.), Busby and Smith.
 
RAYLE = RIGHT IN IT
• When freshman Aly Rayle steps in the circle, you can nearly guarantee it’s going to be a tight ballgame.
• As a starter, Rayle has posted a 3.13 ERA and Virginia has dropped just three games in which Rayle made the start.
• Against No. 3 Florida State, Rayle carried the Cavaliers to the seventh inning trailing just 4-2.
• Only twice this season in 19 outings has Rayle surrendered more than three runs.
 
THE LONGEST SERIES
• Virginia has faced North Carolina more times than any other opponent in Cavalier history.
• The Hoos and Heels have met in every single season since 1984. This weekend marks the 36th-straight year the two programs have met on the diamond.
• The series is the oldest, continuously-played series in Virginia softball history.
 
HISTORY IN THE MAKING
• Not only is Lacy Smith closing in on the single season home run record at Virginia, but the senior is also threatening the single season batting record.
• Smith is hitting .425 on the season, challenging Jamie Hahn’s .424 average in 1996 that sets the current bar.
• No Cavalier has hit above the .400 mark since Kelly Haller in 2007.
 
VERSUS UNC
• Virginia and North Carolina are meeting for the 124th time in the series opener. UNC holds an 88-34-1 mark in the series.
• The Tar Heels have taken each of the past two series, 2-1.
• In 2018, the series featured an extra-inning contest, won by UNC and the 2017 meeting was clinched by a one-run affair.
• Virginia is looking for its first series win in Chapel Hill since 2005.

UP NEXT
Virginia’s road swing continues on Tuesday (April 9), as the Cavaliers make the short trip to Longwood.