Virginia Closes Home Schedule With Louisville Series

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (29-15, 8-10 ACC) closes out the home schedule this weekend with a three-game series against Louisville (29-14, 10-4 ACC) at Palmer Park.

First pitch in game one is set for 6 p.m. on Friday (April 21), while Saturday’s game is set for a 6 p.m. start and Sunday’s finale is set for 4 p.m.

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

A WEEKEND FULL OF EVENTS

• Friday’s series opener is season-ticket holder appreciation night at Palmer Park.
• Saturday’s game is our Alumni Game as program alumni are welcomed back to Palmer Park and their contributions to the program are celebrated.
  • Sunday’s finale is Senior Day with ceremonies to honor our senior class held after the completion of the game.

LEADING OFF

• The series against Louisville is the final homestand for the Cavaliers this season.
• Virginia is coming off a run-rule victory over JMU on Tuesday night – the ninth of the year.
• Virginia is second in the ACC in steals (91) and ranks 14th nationally in the category.
• Jade Hylton and Kelly Ayer are second and third in the ACC in steals this season. Hylton is second and has 21 steals on the year, while Ayer is third with 20 steals this season.
• Virginia’s 94 stolen bases is the tied fifth most in a single season and is two shy of tying the 2001 team for fourth most in a season (96).
• As a staff, the Cavaliers are fourth in the ACC in earned run average (2.47) and are second in the ACC in shutouts (12) – which ranks 20th nationally.
• The Hoos also put one of the nation’s top defenses on the field for the second straight season. UVA is third in the ACC in fielding percentage (.976) and 20th nationally.
• Virginia hit a pair of home runs Tuesday to move the season total to 44 as a team and that number is sixth most in a season for a Cavalier squad and one shy of fifth all-time
• Tori Gilbert hit her ninth of the year and has 33 for her career tied for second all-time at UVA.
• UVA moved up to 42 in the RPI heading into the weekend after Tuesday’s win over JMU and the matchup with Louisville presents another chance to strengthen the postseason resumé.
• With Tuesday’s win over JMU, the Hoos surpassed last year’s win total and the 29 wins is the most since the 2010 team posted 34 wins on the way to an NCAA Regional appearance.

THE SERIES WITH LOUISVILLE

• Virginia and Louisville have faced each other 22 times with the Cardinals leading the series 17-5
• This will be only the second meeting in Charlottesville as the 2021 series was played in Raleigh as part of ACC pod play during the COVID altered season.
• The Cardinals won last year’s series 2-1 in Louisville with the Cavaliers grabbing game two of the series in a tightly-contested weekend.
• The last series played at UVA was in the 2016 season at The Park a year before head coach Joanna Hardin took over the program.