Virginia Continues ACC Play At NC State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (15-11, 2-1 ACC) heads back out on the road this weekend, continuing ACC play at NC State (19-7, 2-4 ACC). The three-game series is set to begin with game one at 6 p.m. on Friday (March 18) at the Dail Softball Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION

All three games of the weekend series with NC State will be streamed through the ESPN app and on ESPN.com. Friday and Saturday’s games are on ACCNX, while Sunday’s game is on ACC Network. Live stats for all three games of the series are also available. Links to the live stream and stats are at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball).

NOTING THE HOOS
• Virginia goes back out on the road this weekend with a three-game series at NC State after a five-game homestand. After this weekend 24-of-29 games will have been on the road.
• Lauren VanAssche is coming off a team-leading .545 week last week when the Hoos went 3-1 with a win over Maryland and series win over No. 24 Notre Dame at Palmer Park.
• Leah Boggs leads the Hoos with a five-game hit streak entering the weekend and is one of three players with active hit streaks that includes VanAssche (3) and Coon (2).
• Freshman Sarah Coon continues to lead the Hoos at the plate with a .362 average and is tied for second on the team in both runs scored (18) and RBI (16).
• The Hoos have been efficient at getting free bases, ranking fifth in the ACC with 96 free bases after tallying 83 walks and 13 HBP.
• RHP Aly Rayle was solid in the circle last week, allowing one run in 12.0 IP. She worked a complete game in game two vs. Notre Dame and 5.0 scoreless in relief in game three to help the Hoos to the series win.
• Rayle has had success against the Wolfpack, starting five games against them and going 4-1 in those starts. Included in that was a three-game sweep in the 2019 season and a split in starts last season.

HOOS CARRYING STREAK REACHING BASE SAFELY
• Sarah Coon has been tough to keep off base this season, finding ways on base near the top of the UVA lineup.
• The freshman enters the weekend series with a streak of 21 straight games reaching base safely to lead UVA.
• The next closest Hoos are Gabby Baylog who has reached base in 11 consecutive games and Leah Boggs who has reached in five straight games.

THE SERIES WITH NC STATE
• Virginia and NC State have faced each other 49 times in the series with the Wolfpack leading 29-20
• The teams split the four-game series in Charlottesville last season with UVA winning games one and three
• UVA swept the 2019 series in Raleigh and has won five of the last seven against the Wolfpack in the series

A LOOK AT THE WOLFPACK
• NC State enters the weekend having been swept at No. 13 Duke last weekend and falling to Troy in the midweek
• The Wolfpack are hitting .311 as a team and led by Logan Morris with a .472 average, eight home runs and 27 RBI
• The Pack have scored 148 runs and conceded 85 runs this season with opponents hitting .215 against them
• In the circle, NC State holds a 2.95 team ERA and are led by Sam Gress with a 2.63 ERA and a 7-1 record
• Aisha Weixlman leads the Pak with 75 strikeouts and a 2.93 ERA on the way to a 7-3 record this season