Virginia Goes Back On The Road For ACC Series At Pitt

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (20-10, 1-5 ACC) heads back out on the road this weekend to continue ACC play with a three-game series at Pittsburgh (14-11, 0-3 ACC). The series is set to get started with a 3 p.m. first pitch on Friday (March 24) due to expected inclement weather in the area.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Friday and Sunday’s games will be streamed on ACCNX, while Saturday’s game is set for broadcast on ACC Network. All three games will be available for streaming on the ESPN app and at ESPN.com. Live stats are also available for all three games. Links to the stream and live stats are at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official Twitter account (@UVASoftball).

LEADING OFF

• Virginia goes on the road for an ACC series for the second straight weekend after traveling to face No. 4 Clemson last weekend and is coming off a doubleheader sweep of Hofstra.
• Kelly Ayer (16) and Jade Hylton (14) both rank in the top four in the ACC in steals. Both are in the top five in the ACC in steals per game and Ayer is 27th nationally in steals.
• The Hoos have been aggressive on the basepath with 71 steals – ranking 11th nationally and tops in the ACC. UVA is 71-of-81 on steal attempts this season.
• Hylton holds the team lead in home runs (7) and also leads the team in RBI (21) as four players have tallied double digit RBI for the Hoos this season.
• Freshman RHP Eden Bigham ranks eighth nationally in fewest hits allowed per seven innings (3.14) and leads the ACC. She is coming off a one-hit complete-game vs. Hofstra.
• Bigham also ranks third in the ACC with her 79 strikeouts through 64.2 innings of work.
• All three UVA starters rank in the to 10 in the ACC in ERA, while Molly Grube joins Bigham among the top five in the ACC in fewest hits allowed per seven innings.
• Kailyn Jones leads the ACC and is eighth in the NCAA in triples (4) so far this season.
• Jenny Bressler has been clutch for the Hoos in several roles, ranking eighth nationally in saves (3) while also posting a 6-1 record through her 17 appearances and seven starts.

THE SERIES WITH PITTSBURGH

• Virginia and Pittsburgh have faced each other 25 times with the Cavaliers holding a 15-10 lead in the series.
• It’s a series dominated by the home team with the Hoos going 9-0 in games in Charlottesville and the Panthers leading 7-2 in games played at Pittsburgh.
• UVA has won five straight in the series and eight of the last nine meetings dating back through the 2019 series.
• This will be the first series played at Pitt since the 2018 season as the 2021 series was played in Raleigh, N.C. as part of pod play that season due to COVID.

ON DECK FOR THE HOOS

• Virginia will come home to kick off a seven-game homestand beginning next weekend with North Carolina.
• The three-game set with the Tar Heels opens on Friday (March 31) with a 6 p.m. first pitch at Palmer Park.
• Saturday’s game at 1 p.m. is Heroes Appreciation Day at Palmer Park and The UVA Softball program invites any and all active duty military, veterans and first-responders to Palmer Park.