Virginia Hosts No. 19 Virginia Tech at Palmer Park

Tickets | Watch | Live Stats | UVA Notes

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia softball (8-9, 0-3 ACC) faces No. 19 Virginia Tech (16-4, 0-0 ACC) in a three-game ACC series at Palmer Park beginning Friday (March 6) at 4 p.m. The series is also part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529.
 
Game two of the series is set for 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 7) with the finale on Sunday (March 8) at 1 p.m.
 
GAME COVERAGE
All three games of the series will air on ACCNX. ACCNX is available to authenticated subscribers of ACC Network via the ESPN App. Links for the live stream and live stats are available on VirginiaSports.com.
 
LEADING OFF
• Virginia hosts its first ACC series at Palmer Park this weekend as the Cavaliers welcome rival Virginia Tech to town.
• The official ribbon cutting for Palmer Park will take place prior to Friday’s series opener with the Hokies. Lisa and Fran Palmer will both be in attendance to celebrate the new facility.
• Virginia is aiming to snap a five-game skid entering the weekend.
• The Cavaliers carried a 2-0 lead over JMU into the fifth inning on Tuesday night before the Dukes rallied to win the first game at Palmer Park.
 
HOO TO WATCH
• Freshman Mikaila Fox (Ocean Springs, Miss.) has found her stride at the plate, hitting .429 in the last five games.
• That mark leads the Cavaliers during the span, as does her six hits.
• Fox enters the weekend with a three-game hitting streak, where she is swinging at a .625 clip.
• She went 2-for-2 with a run scored on Tuesday against JMU.
 
PALMER PARK
• Virginia opened its new stadium, Palmer Park, on March 3 against JMU. Palmer Park is named after former Cavalier pitcher Lisa Palmer and her mother Fran. The Palmers were the lead contributors to the stadium project.
• The Cavaliers will host a dedication ceremony for Palmer Park prior to Friday’s series opener against the Hokies.
• Palmer Park is a state-of-the-art facility which houses all of the Cavaliers’ needs. Within the confines of Palmer Park is the team locker room and lounge, athletic training room, meeting rooms and a 60’x60′ indoor facility.
• Lisa Palmer pitched for the Cavaliers from 1986-89, establishing school records in wins (74), innings pitched (861.2) complete games (102), and games started (112). She still holds the UVA single-season records for wins (27), shutouts (14) and assists (221).
 
THE SERIES
• Virginia and Virginia Tech meet for the annual Commonwealth Clash series with the Hokies holding a 43-22 edge in the all-time meetings.
• The Cavaliers have dropped seven-straight to the Hokies.
• Virginia has not earned the series win since 2011, when the Hoos took 2-of-3.
• The Hokies hold an 18-9 advantage in meetings in Charlottesville.
 
COMMONWEALTH CLASH
• The Virginia-Virginia Tech game is part of the Commonwealth Clash presented by Virginia529, which is a head-to-head, points-based competition between the athletic teams of the Cavaliers and Hokies.
• The Commonwealth Clash encourages a friendly, statewide rivalry between the two schools across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner and take home the Virginia529 Commonwealth Clash trophy.
• The Cavaliers come into the weekend leading this year’s Clash 7.5-5.5.
• UVA captured the Clash in 2015, 2016 and 2019, while Virginia Tech has won the Clash in 2017 and 2018.
 
SWIPING BAGS
• With 26 stolen bases, the Cavaliers have already swiped the team’s most bags since 2016.
• Virginia is 26-for-29 on stolen base attempts.
• Bailey Winscott (Clinton, Miss.) is a perfect 7-for-7 in stolen base attempts to lead Virginia.
• Tori Gilbert (Mechanicsville, Va.) is a perfect 5-for-5 in steal attempts.
• Nine different Cavaliers have recorded a stolen base this season.
• Virginia averages 1.53 stolen bases per game, a mark that ranks 55th in the nation.
 
THREE FOR THREE
• Three Cavaliers share the team lead with three home runs.
• Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.), Gilbert and Katie Goldberg (Atlanta, Ga.) have all left the park a trio of times this season.
• Friedman leads the way with a .339 batting average and 13 RBI.
• Gilbert leads the squad in slugging percentage, adding five doubles and a triple to sit at .600 in the category.
• Goldberg’s 11 RBI are most among freshman and puts her on-pace to challenge the freshman record.
 
PARKING
Friday, March 6
Eight (8) bays in JPJ South will be held for first-come, first-served baseball/softball patrons. Parking is also available on a first-come, first-served basis in JPJ West/Garage/East.
 
Saturday, March 7
Due to the men’s basketball game at 4 p.m., ALL softball parking will be located in Emmet/Ivy Garage. A fan shuttle will begin operation at noon, taking fans from the garage to the Palmer Park ticket booth. Shuttle service will be in continuous operation until fans have cleared the stadium following the game.
 
Sunday, March 8
Due to an event in JPJ, all softball fans should park in the JPJ South lot (old U-Hall lot). JPJ East, West and Garage will be subject to a 3 p.m. vacate time.
 
TICKET INFORMATION
Virginia softball season and single-game tickets are on sale now. All seating is general admission in 2020 with season tickets just $45. UVA faculty and staff may purchase season tickets for $35. Single-game tickets are available for $5 in advance or $8 at the box office on game day.
 
Fans may purchase tickets online at UVATix.com or through the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office in Bryant Hall at Scott Stadium. The ticket office is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. for in-person or telephone purchases. Telephone purchases can be made by calling 1-800-542-UVA1 (8821) or locally at 434-924-UVA1 (8821).
 
CLEAR BAG POLICY
Virginia athletics’ clear bag policy and entry procedures will be in place for all home softball games at Palmer Park this season. More information on the clear bag policy and other Palmer Park policies can be found here.
 
UP NEXT
Virginia hosts Bucknell on Tuesday (March 10) in a doubleheader at Palmer Park.