Virginia Blanks Syracuse Behind Houge's Complete Game

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Mikayla Houge (Collins, Iowa) went the distance for her first complete-game shutout, helping lead Virginia (15-28, 10-22 ACC) to a 6-0 victory over Syracuse (17-16, 10-13 ACC) at Palmer Park on Saturday (April 24).

Houge (5-9) scattered four hits and struck out three across the 7.0 innings of work. She faced three over the minimum in her outing.

Kaia Oliver (7-7) suffered the loss for the Orange as she allowed the one run on three hits with three walks and a strikeout in 4.0 innings of work.

Virginia got on the board in the first, executing a double steal with Arizona Ritchie (Stafford, Va.) sliding in safely at the plate after Katie Goldberg (Atlanta, Ga.) eluded the tag to reach second safely.

The Cavaliers then broke things open in the fifth inning, getting a pair of RBI singles from Goldberg and Rachel Keshin (New Canaan, Conn.) around an RBI double from Donna Friedman (Orange, Calif.). Virginia then added two more runs in the sixth, including a solo home run from Mikaila Fox (Ocean Springs, Miss.).

NOTES ON THE GAME
• The complete game from Houge was her second. The other was a 3-1 win over George Washington (2/28).
• Mikaila Fox’s home run in the sixth was the second of her career. The last came vs. Tennessee Tech (2/23/20).
• Fox went 2-for-2 on the day with the run scored and the RBI. She also drew a walk to reach base three times.
• The 2-for-3 day at the plate was a career-best for Rachel Keshin.
• The shutout was the fourth in ACC play by the Virginia pitching staff this season.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I was really proud of how we bounced back. I don’t think we played to our potential on Friday, so for our team to come out and turn the page today was exciting to see – especially offensively. We see what the players are doing on their own and in the cages; for that to materialize made me happy for our offense. I’m excited for Mikayla to turn in her first complete-game shutout and one of many I see coming down the line in her career. She got touched up a bit last night and for her to come back and turn the page made me proud. We want to come out Sunday just as aggressive and look to take the game and even the series.”

NEXT UP FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Syracuse will close out the weekend series with a single game at noon on Sunday (April 25). The game will be streamed on ACCNX.