Virginia Falls To Pitt In ACC Pod Play Opener

DURHAM, N.C. – The Virginia softball team (1-2, 0-1 ACC) took an early lead, but Pittsburgh (1-3, 1-1 ACC) rallied down the stretch on Friday (Feb. 19) to take the 7-4 victory in the ACC opener for the Cavaliers. It was the second game of the day for the Panthers who played Duke earlier in the afternoon in ACC pod play.

Katie Goldberg (Atlanta, Ga.) led the Cavaliers at the plate with a 3-for-4 night, including two RBI and a run scored, as Virginia notched 12 hits in the outing.

Madison Harris (1-2) took the loss in relief, allowing three runs on five hits in 2.1 innings of work. She struck out two on the night. Molly Grube (Chesterfield, Va.) worked 2.2 innings in the start, allowing four runs on four hits with four walks and three strikeouts. Virginia used three pitchers on the night.

Dani Drogemuller (1-1) picked up the win for the Panthers, working 4.0 shutout innings in relief as she allowed five hits with a walk and two strikeouts.

Virginia struck first, pushing a three runs home in the second inning. Back-to-back walks of Mikaila Fox (Ocean Springs, Miss.) and Arizona Ritchie (Stafford, Va.) got things started. Fox took advantage of an error to scamper to third. Ritchie then stole second and a fielding error on the steal attempt allowed Fox to score. Leah Boggs (Mansfield, Ohio) then doubled down the right field line to score Ritchie, but the freshman was thrown out at third trying to take the extra bag.

Bailey Winscott (Clinton, Miss.) drew a walk as the lineup flipped before promptly stealing second. She then scored on a double to center from Goldberg to give the Cavaliers the 3-0 lead before Pitt would get out of the inning.

A walk and a single with one out put two on for the Panthers in the home half of the inning before a single off the wall in right field drove home the first run and left runners at the corners. A walk loaded the bases before the Cavaliers would get back-to-back force outs at home and third to end the inning up 3-1.

Pitt took the 4-3 lead in the bottom of the third with a two-out rally that pushed three runs home. A two-RBI double from Sarah Seamans tied things up before the Panthers would load the bases and send Virginia to the bullpen. The first batter faced by Mackenzie Wooten slipped an RBI single through the left side before Wooten would get the Cavaliers out of the inning with a strikeout.

Virginia tied things up in the fourth with a bases-loaded single from Goldberg pushed a run home. It was the fourth-straight single to start the inning for the Cavaliers, but the one run would be it as Pitt got out of the jam.

Another two-out rally in the fifth inning put Pitt back on top as a single up the middle drove in the runner from second. The Panthers then used a third two-out rally in the sixth to extend the lead to the final 7-4 margin of victory.

GAME NOTES
• Katie Goldberg’s 3-for-4 performance led four Cavaliers with at least two hits on the night. Her three hits tied a career high, the last three-hit performance also coming against Pitt (3/10/19).
• Seven different Virginia players recorded a hit in the game, including a 2-for-3 performance with an RBI from freshman Leah Boggs.
• Madison Harris made her third straight appearance in relief as she has closed out all three UVA games.

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will return to action on Saturday with a pair of games in ACC pod play at Duke. The Cavaliers will face Louisville (0-4) in the first game of the day at 11 a.m. before facing Pittsburgh in the second game of the weekend set with the Panthers at 1:30 p.m. Both games will be played at Duke.