Virginia Drops Series Opener At No. 4 Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A quick start for the Hoos didn’t hold up in the series opener as Virginia (27-14, 7-9 ACC) fell at No. 4 Florida State (34-7, 12-1 ACC) by a score of 6-1 on Friday night (April 14). The Seminoles used two big innings to pull away from the Cavaliers for the win.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia struck in the first inning with an RBI groundout to short from Gabby Baylog that scored Jade Hylton. Hylton opened the game with a triple to the wall in right center to get into scoring position for the Hoos.

The Seminoles responded by loading the bases with two outs in the home half before a walk brought home the first run. Savanah Henley entered in relief and got a lineout to end the inning with the game tied at one.

Florida State took the lead in the third with a bases-loaded double with two outs that got lost in the sun in shallow right and dropped in for the hit. The three runs scored on the play put the Seminoles on top 4-1. The home team then extended the lead in the sixth with a solo home run and added a second run with a two-out single through the right side for the final 6-1 margin of victory.

Savanah Henley (0-1) took the loss in relief as she allowed five runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts in 4.2 innings of work. Henley entered the game in relief of Grube with the bases loaded and two outs in a tie game.

Katheryn Sandercock (14-3) picked up the win as she allowed the one run on two hits with a walk through her 4.2 innings of work. McKenna Reid notched her third save of the season as she closed out the final 2.1 innings.

NOTES ON THE GAME

• The leadoff triple by Jade Hylton was her fourth of the season, tying her for the team lead.
• The loss bucked a trend for the Hoos who entered the game with a 25-4 mark when scoring first this season.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I’ve been saying all year that timely hits are critical and we saw that tonight. I don’t think the score was indicative of how competitive that game was, but Florida State got timely hits when they needed them. Savanah Henley came into a tight situation, really competed hard for us and put some zeros on the board. We’re confident in who we are heading into tomorrow’s games and are ready to go out and compete again.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and the fourth-ranked Seminoles return to action on Saturday (April 15) as the series continues with a doubleheader on Saturday due to expected inclement weather on Sunday. Game one of the doubleheader will begin at noon at JoAnne Graf Field.