Hoos Homer Twice In 5-3 Loss To Louisville

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – One big inning was the difference on Friday (April 21) as Virginia (29-16, 8-11 ACC) fell to Louisville (30-14, 11-4 ACC) by a score of 5-3 at Palmer Park. Every run in the game was scored off a home run as the teams combined for four home runs on the evening.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Katie Goldberg homered in the first inning, belting a two-run shot to left center to put the Hoos on the board. Tori Gilbert scored on the play after reaching on a single to right earlier in the inning.

Louisville answered with a solo shot in the third from Taylor Roby to start the inning. The Cardinals then put two batters on to push the Hoos to turn to Eden Bigham out of the bullpen. Bigham and the Hoos got a pair of outs before leadoff hitter Korbe Otis would hit a grand slam to vault Louisville to the 5-2 lead.

Virginia hit its second home run of the night with a solo shot to left from Abby Weaver in the seventh to cut the lead to its final 5-3 margin.

Molly Grube (7-7) took the loss in the start, allowing three runs on three hits with a walk in 3.0 innings of work. Grube left the game in the fourth with two runners on base and no outs and the Cavaliers leading 2-1.

Alyssa Zabala (13-6) picked up the win, allowing three runs on three hits with one strikeout in the complete-game effort.

NOTES ON THE DAY

• All eight runs in the game were scored on home runs with Louisville hitting a solo home run and a grand slam, while the Cavaliers hit a two-run home run and a solo shot.
• Katie Goldberg’s home run was her third of the year, while Abby Weaver hit her fifth home run of the season.
• Goldberg’s home run was the 24th of her career to tie for ninth most in a career by a UVA player.
• It is the 12th multiple-home run game of the season for the Cavaliers and second of the week.
• Virginia has now hit 46 home runs this season which is two shy of fifth all-time at UVA.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I thought we came out aggressive and knowing exactly what we were looking for tonight. We got some great swings off in that first inning and then wavered a bit offensively. It really comes down to one inning with a couple of pitches and a couple of walks and a lack of execution at the plate consistently throughout the game. We’ll come back tomorrow and be ready. One thing I love about our team is we learn from our mistakes and we’ll get ready for game two. Tomorrow will be just as competitive and we have a lot to fight for. I expect to see us turn the page, be ourselves and make adjustments tomorrow. “

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and Louisville will continue the weekend series on Saturday night when the teams face off in game two of the series at 6 p.m.