Virginia Set To Face Louisville, Pitt In ACC Pod Play

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (1-1, 0-0 ACC) continues play on the road this weekend, facing Louisville (0-2, 0-0 ACC) and Pittsburgh (0-2, 0-0 ACC) in ACC pod action with games played at both Duke and NC State.

After Thursday’s game against Louisville was canceled due to expected inclement weather in the area, Virginia will open ACC pod play against the Pittsburgh in a 6 p.m. game at Duke on Friday (Feb. 19). The Cavaliers are now set to play two games against Louisville and three against the Panthers.

VIRGINIA’S SCHEDULE IN ACC POD ACTION (Thursday – Sunday)
Thursday  – at NC State
1:30 p.m. vs. Louisville – CANCELED

Friday – at Duke
6 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh

Saturday – at Duke
11 a.m. vs. Louisville
1:30 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh

Sunday – at NC State
11 a.m. vs. Louisville
1:30 p.m. vs. Pittsburgh

HOW TO KEEP UP WITH THE ACTION
All the games will be streamed on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app to viewers who subscribe to the ACC Network through their television providers. Links to all streams and live stats for all games are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia opened the season on the road at the Red & Black Showcase last weekend with games against No. 14 Georgia, which hosted the event, and South Alabama. The Cavaliers took the early lead against the nationally-ranked Bulldogs, but a late rally by the home team pushed Georgia to a 5-2 victory in the opener. Virginia used a rally of its own in the nightcap, capitalizing on a Kate Covington (McLean, Va.) grand slam in the sixth inning as part of a six-run rally to take a 9-4 victory over South Alabama. Sunday’s games were rained out.

TRIO LEADS HOOS AT THE PLATE ON OPENING WEEKEND
In the opening weekend, the trio of Covington, Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.) and Katie Goldberg (Atlanta, Ga.) providing pop to the lineup. Covington and Goldberg both hit .500 for the weekend with Covington tallying 4 RBI with her grand slam and a double, while Goldberg added a two-run shot and scored twice. Friedman hit a home run in her first at bat, sending the first pitch she saw over the left field fence and hit for a .429 clip on the weekend. She and Covington also both scored twice on the weekend. The trio accounted for eight of the team’s nine RBI.

THE SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE
Virginia and Louisville have played 17 times with the Cardinals holding a 13-4 lead in the all-time series. The squads have not met since the 2018 season when Louisville claimed the three-game series with wins in the first two games of the series. The teams have met five times at a neutral field with Louisville holding a 3-2 edge in those meetings.

THE SERIES WITH PITTSBURGH
Virginia and Pittsburgh have met 19 times in the history of the two programs with the Cavaliers holding a 10-9 lead in the all-time series. The squads last met in the 2019 season when Virginia swept the three-game series in Charlottesville. The teams are tied 2-2 in games played at neutral sites. It will be the first time for the teams to meet at a neutral site since the teams played three-games in Florence, S.C., in the 2015 season.

A LOOK AT THE CARDINALS AND PANTHERS
The Cardinals and Panthers both enter the weekend with 0-2 marks on the season. Louisville went on the road and dropped a doubleheader at No. 8 Alabama on the opening weekend, while Pittsburgh dropped contests with Liberty and New Mexico State in a tournament played in Leesburg, Fla.

Louisville returns 14 letter winners from a year ago, including sisters Cassady and Camryn Greenwood who hit .386 and .373 last season, respectively. In the opening weekend, the Cardinals were led by a pair of transfers with Utah transfer Makayla Hurt hitting at a .667 clip and Southern Indiana graduate transfer Jennifer Leonhardt worked six innings and allowed three unearned runs against the Crimson Tide in her 6.0 innings of work.

Pittsburgh returns senior Hunter Levesque to the lineup who ended the 2020 season on an 11-game hit streak and hit at a .321 clip a year ago. Also back for the Panthers is junior Katlyn Pavlick who led the squad with 11 RBI a year ago. Pavlick led the Panthers in the opening weekend, hitting at a .500 clip with a run scored and an RBI.

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia is scheduled to return home next weekend to host James Madison and George Washington at the Cavalier Classic. The Cavaliers are set to play four games across two days with competition beginning on Saturday (Feb. 27) at Palmer Park with a single game each against the Dukes and the Colonials. Virginia will then play a doubleheader against George Washington on Sunday (Feb. 28).