Virginia Drops Series Opener To No. 2 Florida State

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (21-14, 8-2 ACC) fell in conference play for the first time in more than two weeks on Friday night in a 9-0 loss to No. 2 Florida State (33-2, 8-2 ACC) at Palmer Park.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Florida State got off to the quick start pushing two runs home in the first inning with a sacrifice fly following a leadoff triple and a solo home run. The Seminoles then added two more runs in the third with a two-run shot.

An RBI groundout in the fourth made it a 5-0 lead for the Seminoles before a sixth run would come home in the fifth.

Florida State capped the scoring with a three-run sixth on the way to grabbing the series-opening victory in six innings.

Aly Rayle (4-3) took the loss for Virginia, allowing two runs on three hits with a  walk in 1.0 inning of work.

Kathryn Sandercock (17-0) picked up the win as she allowed three hits and struck out three through 5.0 innings of work.

NOTES ON THE GAME
• The crowd of 1,006 was the largest in the short history of Palmer Park, passing the previous high of 915 (3/8/20).
• Molly Grube worked 4.0 innings in relief for her longest outing of the season and second relief appearance.
• Clare Zureich made her second appearance of the year as she closed out the game for the Hoos.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“It was not the result we expected and wanted, but I thought we came out ready to go. Our defense played solid and we had some good at bats; we were doing the right things. We’re facing a good team and there is little margin for error. Our pitching staff will learn from this game. We’ll watch some film, get some sleep and get after it on Saturday. We also have a great opportunity for perspective as we celebrate people tomorrow who are fighting or have fought cancer. It’s important to keep that perspective on wins, losses and the bigger things out there that people face. We’ll turn around tomorrow

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will continue to play at home on Saturday with game two of the weekend series against the Seminoles. First pitch is set for 1 p.m. at Palmer Park. It will be a Strike Out Cancer game presented by UVA Health System and the first 250 fans will receive a free Strike Out Cancer t-shirt.