Virginia Drops Pitcher's Duel With Syracuse Sunday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavaliers came up on the short end of a pitcher’s duel on Sunday (April 25) as Virginia (15-29, 10-23 ACC) fell by a score of 1-0 to Syracuse (18-16, 11-13 ACC) in the series finale at Palmer Park.

Four Virginia pitchers combined to limit the Orange to two hits on the afternoon, but Syracuse scrapped out one run and held the Cavaliers to one hit on the afternoon to pick up the victory.

Aly Rayle (3-7) took the loss for the Cavaliers, allowing the one run on one hit with two walks and two strikeouts. Rayle (Herndon, Va.) worked 2.0 innings in the start.

Alexa Romero (8-5) picked up the victory in the complete-game effort, allowing the one hit with four strikeouts. She did not walk a batter.

Syracuse got on the board in the second inning when Lailoni Mayfield delivered a double to score Toni Martin who reached on a walk and stole second. The one run would hold up for the duration to give Syracuse the victory.

NOTES ON THE GAME
• Mackenzie Wooten, Clare Zureich and Madison Harris worked the final 5.0 innings, allowing one hit.
• It is only the fourth time this season the Cavaliers have been held without a run.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“It was a great softball game today. There was a lot of energy and both teams were playing competitively. It’s a tough one to lose, but you have to be proud of the adjustments our offense made. We had a lot of loud outs. Tip your cap to Syracuse – they positioned their defense well and took a couple from us. The difference was a timely hit. Tip your hat to (Alexa) Romero because she threw it well and I think our staff came together and threw it well.”

“Today was senior day and I’m really proud of our seniors and their investment in our program. They’ve seen a lot of change. I think we have a lot of positives to take into a really important series at Georgia Tech. It’s a tough place to play, but I think we’ve put ourselves in a good position. We’re ready to go. we’re excited about it. We’ll take the positives, leave everything else here and finish it out as strong as we can.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will return to action next weekend, hitting the road to close the regular season in a four-game series at Georgia Tech. The series is set to begin on Friday (April 30) and run through Sunday (May 2).