Virginia Falls In Series Finale With Clemson

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (6-9, 2-7 ACC) scored first for the third straight game against the Tigers, but Clemson (13-2, 8-2 ACC) rallied to take the victory and closed the series with an 8-1 win on Sunday (Mar. 7) at Palmer Park.

Mikayla Houge (Collins, Iowa) suffered the loss as she allowed three runs on four hits with a strikeout across her 2.1 innings of work. She is now 2-2 on the season. Virginia used five pitchers on the afternoon.

Valerie Cagle (8-1) picked up the victory for Clemson as she allowed the one unearned run on seven hits with two walks and six strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

Virginia took the lead in the first inning with an RBI groundout from Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.), but the Tigers responded in the third as a solo home run from the leadoff hitter sparked a three-run rally for Clemson.

Clemson extended the lead in the fourth, capitalizing on a Virginia error to plate two more runs and take the advantage out to 5-1. The Tigers would add three more runs in the seventh for the final margin of victory.

NOTES ON THE GAME/SERIES
• Sunday’s finale marked the third straight game in the series where Virginia scored first.
• Tori Gilbert led the Hoos at the plate in the series, hitting .417 with a home run, two runs scored and two RBI.
• Savana Avilla has hit safely in eight of the last nine games, but saw her seven-game hit streak snapped in game two of Saturday’s doubleheader. She is 10-for-26 (.384) in this nine-game span.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I’m proud of how our team competed and fought this weekend. We are learning every game what it takes to be a championship team. Our execution improved over the weekend, which is key as we continue moving into our ACC season. Our team chooses a growth mindset and I am confident that everyone in the program will show up tomorrow ready to work and prepare for our next game.”