CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (8-15) steps out of conference play for a midweek game at No. 19 Virginia Tech (15-4) on Wednesday (March 24) at 4 p.m. The game is designated as a non-conference matchup for both teams and is the first of two games on the schedule in a home-and-home format.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
The non-conference matchup will be broadcast on ACC Network and is also available for streaming through the WatchESPN app. Live stats will also be available and links to both the live stats and streaming broadcast are available at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball).

LAST TIME OUT FOR THE CAVALIERS
Virginia is coming off a series split with NC State at home over the weekend, taking games one and three of the four-game set from the Wolfpack. Aly Rayle (Herndon, Va.) threw a complete game in the opener, striking out nine as the Cavaliers took a 4-2 victory over NC State. In game three, Virginia got a combined shutout from Molly Grube (Chesterfield, Va.) and Mikayla Houge (Collins, Iowa) as the pair helped the Cavaliers pick up the 2-0 victory.

A LOOK AT VIRGINIA
Sophomore Katie Goldberg (Atlanta, Ga.) leads the Cavalier offense, hitting at a .329 clip with a team-leading 12 RBI and 12 runs scored this season. She is tied for second on the team with three home runs. Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.) is second with a .311 average and is tied for second on the team with 10 runs scored and 11 RBI. Tori Gilbert (Mechanicsville, Va.) leads the team in home runs with four.

Houge leads the Cavaliers in innings pitched (42.1) and has made nine starts in the circle with 11 total appearances. She holds a 3.53 ERA to lead all Virginia pitchers with seven appearances or more on the year and has struck out a team-leading 31 batters. She is holding opponents to a .228 batting average against. Rayle, the team-leader in strikeouts a year ago with 74, returned to the starting lineup this past weekend with two starts. She has 15 strikeouts through 15.1 innings of work and has limited opponents to a .167 batting average against in her six appearances.

THE SERIES WITH THE HOKIES
Virginia and Virginia Tech have met 68 times with the Hokies holding a 46-22 lead in the all-time series. The Cavaliers are looking to get into the win column against Virginia Tech for the first time since the 2017 season when Virginia picked up a 9-8 win in the middle game of the weekend series at home in Charlottesville.

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS

Virginia will have the weekend off with its ACC bye week coming this weekend. The Cavaliers will then return home for five games next week. It will kick off with the return non-conference matchup against Virginia Tech on Tuesday (March 30) before hosting Boston College in a four-game series that begins on Thursday (April 1) and runs through Saturday at Palmer Park.