Bigham Fans 14 As Virginia Downs Lehigh

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Eden Bigham struck out a career-high 14 batters, including the first 12 batters of the game, to help Virginia (7-4) to a run-rule victory over Lehigh (2-7) at Palmer Park on Friday (Feb. 23). The Cavaliers downed the Mountain Hawks 9-0 in five innings.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Hoos got a quick start with a three-run home run from Jade Hylton in the first inning. A single from Kelly Ayer and a double to right center from Sarah Coon put two on before Hylton launched one over the berm in center.

Virginia then added a single run in the second inning when Coon laced a double to center that drove in Leah Boggs. Boggs reached with a double to open the inning.

The Cavaliers then drove home five runs in the fifth inning to cap the scoring. It started with Kamyria Woody-Giggetts scoring on a wild pitch after stealing second and third as a pinch runner. The Cavaliers continued the scoring with a bases-loaded single from Ayer followed by a groundout from Coon. The game then ended with a double to right center from Hylton that pushed Leah Boggs and Ayer home for the run-rule victory.

Eden Bigham (3-2) picked up the win, striking out the 14 batters while allowing only one hit in the five-inning shutout.

Chloe Hess (0-4) took the loss for Lehigh as she allowed six runs on nine hits with three walks and a strikeout through 4.0 innings of work.

NOTES ON THE DAY

• Eden Bigham struck out the first 12 batters faced on the way to her career-high 14 strikeouts on the night.
• Jade Hylton’s five RBI tied her career high that was set against George Washington (2/26/23).
• Hylton’s home run in the first inning was her third home run in the last two games.

FROM HEAD COACH JO HARDIN
“It’s great to be home. We love playing at Palmer Park and playing in front of our fans. Eden Bigham just came out and never let up. She was huge for us in the circle. We know what she can bring and it’s great seeing her becoming who we know she can be. Jade Hylton was tremendous and really our whole offense one through nine. We executed our plan and kept it simple, and it was great to see us stick with that even after putting up four runs early. It’s a good way to start going into tomorrow and the rest of the weekend.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia returns to action with a pair of games on Saturday. The Cavaliers will face Lehigh at 12:30 p.m. and then take on Iowa State at 3:30 p.m.