Virginia Hosts JMU And George Washington In Cavalier Classic

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (3-4, 2-3 ACC) opens play at home this weekend, hosting James Madison (0-0) and George Washington (0-0) as part of the Cavalier Classic at Palmer Park. Play begins on Saturday (Feb. 27) with three games, starting with the Cavaliers and Dukes at 12 p.m, and continues through Sunday.

CAVALIER CLASSIC SCHEDULE
Saturday
12 p.m.                     Virginia vs. JMU
3 p.m.                       Virginia vs. George Washington
5:30 p.m.                 JMU vs. George Washington

Sunday
12 p.m.                     Virginia vs. George Washington
2:30 p.m.                 Virginia vs. George Washington

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
All of Virginia’s games in the Cavalier Classic will be streamed on ACC Network Extra (ACCNX) which is available on via the ESPN app to customers who have the ACC Network as part of their television subscription. Links to all game streams and live stats are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball)

LEADING OFF
• UVA comes home after a opening league play in North Carolina as a part of ACC pod play where the Cavaliers fell in a pair of games against Louisville, but won the series with Pittsburgh.
• Freshman Mikayla Houge struck out a career-high 12 batters in the first win over Pittsburgh.
• Kate Covington hit her second home run of the season, a three-run shot in the finale with Pitt.
• Tori Gilbert hit her first home run of the season, a two-run shot against the Panthers in the weekend finale.
• Clare Zureich struck out a career-high seven batters in her start in the Virginia finale with Louisville.
• Bailey Winscott enters the weekend with a team-leading five game hit streak.
• Donna Friedman leads UVA at the plate, hitting at a .391 clip with a home run and five RBI.

THE SERIES WITH THE DUKES
Virginia and James Madison have faced each other 48 times and the series sits at a 24-24 split heading into this weekend’s meeting. The series began in 1980 with five games played between the squads. Virginia last won in the 2017 season when the teams split a doubleheader at JMU. The Dukes won last year’s meeting at Palmer Park.

THE SERIES WITH THE COLONIALS
Virginia and George Washington have met 10 times and the Cavaliers hold a 7-3 lead in the all-time series with the Colonials. Virginia won nine straight to start the series, beginning with the first doubleheader in 2005, though the Colonials have won three of the last five. Virginia won the last contest 8-0 in 2017. The Cavaliers lead the 6-1 in games played at home.

UP NEXT FOR VIRGINIA
Virginia will continue competition at home next weekend, jumping back into ACC play with a four-game series against Clemson. The series is scheduled to begin on Friday (Mar. 5) with a single game before playing a doubleheader on Saturday and a single game on Sunday.