Virginia Takes 5-1 Victory At Villanova In Eight Innings

VILLANOVA, Pa. – Madi Harris struck out a career-high 10 batters and held the Wildcats in check to give Virginia (24-10) a chance to rally for a 5-1 victory over Villanova (18-14) in eight innings on Saturday (March 30).

Tied at 1-1 after seven innings, the Hoos exploded for four runs in the eighth to pick up the victory.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Villanova got on the board first with a solo home run from the leadoff spot in the first as Tess Cites put it over the fence in straightaway center.

Virginia broke through in the sixth inning when Jade Hylton blasted a solo shot to center to open the frame and get the Hoos on the board.

Each side got runners in the seventh, but neither team could take the lead and the game went into extra innings. That’s when the Hoos went to work to put together a four-run inning.

The rally started with a leadoff walk of Leah Boggs and was followed by a double down the third base line from Hylton to put two in scoring position. Bella Cabral hit a chopper to short to bring home Boggs and leave runners at the corners with no outs. She stole second to put two in scoring position before Villanova would get an out. Macee Eaton then drove a sac fly to left that scored Hylton and put Virginia up 3-1.

A walk of Shelby Barbee put two on for the Hoos and Kassidy Hudson entered to run for Barbee. A wild pitch moved Cabral to third and Hudson to second before Sarah Coon brought them both home with a double to the wall in left center. Virginia led 5-1 after the top of the eighth.

The Hoos then held Villanova off the board in the bottom of the inning to secure the win.

Madi Harris (7-1) picked up the win as she worked 6.1 scoreless innings of relief and scattered four hits while striking out 10. Mikayla Houge worked 1.2 innings in the start for the Hoos.

Kelsey White (4-4) suffered the loss in relief, allowing the four runs on four hits with two walks in 2.0 innings of work.

NOTES ON THE GAME

• With the win, the Hoos took both games against Villanova and now lead the all-time series 4-3.
• The 10 strikeouts by Harris bested her previous career-high of nine set against Southern Indiana (2/17/24).
• Jade Hylton’s home run in the sixth inning was her team-leading seventh of the season.
• Hylton went 2-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI at the top of the lineup.
• Three Hoos posted multiple hits as Bella Cabral, Sarah Coon and Hylton all had two hits for the day.
• Shelby Barbee drew two walks on the afternoon in her three plate appearances.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“It was a tough day and we gutted it out and fought. I’d have liked to see more groundballs in the early innings, but we stayed with it. I’ve got to shout out our bench. They did a great job being ready to go, coming in and doing their jobs. We keep telling the team we will need everyone down the stretch. We continue playing on the road at Notre Dame next week and we’ll have to keep competing and fighting hard down the stretch.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will continue to play on the road as the Hoos jump back into ACC play next weekend with a three-game series at Notre Dame. The series kicks off at 5 p.m. on Friday (April 5).