Virginia Takes 7-3 Victory At Radford

RADFORD, Va. – A pair of home runs from MC Eaton and Sarah Coon got the offense started on Tuesday night (Feb. 27) as the Cavaliers went on the road and downed Radford (7-6) by a score of 7-3.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Radford struck first, capitalizing on a throwing error to put runners at second and third with one out. A sac fly to right center brought the runner home before the Cavaliers would get out of the inning.

MC Eaton evened things up in the second with a leadoff home run to left off. The Cavaliers took the lead in the third with a solo shot from Sarah Coon. Jade Hylton followed it up with a single through the left side and stole second to get in position to score on a double to left from Bella Cabral. Virginia loaded the bases to setup a two-RBI single up the middle from Kelly Ayer and loaded them a second time before Leah Boggs drove a sac fly to center to put the Hoos up 6-1.

Radford responded with a run in the home half of the third and added a third run with a solo home run in the sixth inning.

The Cavaliers closed things out with an RBI single from Kelsey Hackett in the seventh and Savanah Henley shut things down in the home half to give the Hoos the win.

Madison Harris (4-0) picked up the win as she allowed one run on two hits with six strikeouts through 3.0 innings of relief work.

Morgan Cooper (2-3) took the loss as she allowed five runs on five hits with a walk through 2.1 innings in the start.

NOTES ON THE GAME

• MC Eaton’s home run to open the second inning was her first home run of the year.
• Sarah Coon’s home run was her team-leading fifth of the season and she has homered in consecutive games.
• Coon has now reached base in every game this season for a 15 game streak of reaching base safely.
• It was the third time this season the Cavaliers have hit multiple home runs in a game.
• Virginia now leads the series 26-19 and has won five straight against the Highlanders.
• Julia Cuozzo got the start for the Hoos and worked 2.0 innings ,while Savanah Henley worked the final 2.0 innings for the Hoos.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“It’s tough to get on the bus for a couple of hours and get off in some funky weather and play, but I’m proud of our team fighting through a little adversity at the beginning of the game. Seasons have ups and downs and you have to handle that. The game plan was good and we attacked it early tonight. Our pitching staff stitched it together and it was good to see Julia Cuozzo back out there tonight feeling strong. We’re starting to gel and it’s good to see that because we have to keep the same mindset and approach even though conference play brings a new phase to the season.”

ON DECK FOR THE HOOS
Virginia returns to action this weekend as ACC play begins with a three-game series against Boston College at Palmer Park. Friday’s first pitch is set for 5 p.m., while Saturday is set for a 1 p.m. first pitch and Sunday’s finale is set to begin at noon.