Hoos Down NC State 2-0 In Series Opener

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Kelsey Hackett drove in a pair of runs and Eden Bigham turned in another complete-game effort as Virginia (27-11, 10-6 ACC) grabbed a 2-0 win over NC State (22-19, 2-14 ACC) in the series opener at Palmer Park on Friday night (April 12).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia scored first with a run in the second inning as part of a two-out rally. Shelby Barbee got things started with a triple to the wall in right field to bring Kelsey Hackett to the plate. Hackett then drove a hard chopper back over the pitcher to bring Barbee home and put Virginia up 1-0.

NC State threatened in the fifth inning, using a single through the left side and a walk to put two on base. A sac bunt moved them both into scoring position. The Hoos got out of the jam, however as Bigham got a strikeout and coaxed a groundout back to the circle in the next two at bats.

Virginia doubled the lead in the sixth as a single up the middle from Hackett that brought Sarah Coon home from third. Coon reached on a fielder’s choice and moved to third on a single from Barbee to set up the score on the Hackett hit.

Eden Bigham (12-6) picked up the win as she scattered three hits and walked three with eight strikeouts in the complete-game shutout.

Rylee Wyman (6-4) took the loss as she allowed the two runs on eight hits with a walk in 6.0 innings of work.

NOTES ON THE GAME

• Bigham’s complete-game was her sixth of the season and her fourth shutout of the season. Three of those have come in Friday night ACC openers.
• Virginia hit the 10-win mark in ACC play for the third time in the last four seasons with the Friday night win.
• Shelby Barbee’s 3-for-3 night was a career high and she scored the go-ahead run in the second inning.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Tough and super gritty performance tonight. We did enough offensively to get the two runs tonight. Kelsey Hackett’s RBI in the sixth really gave us some breathing room and allowed Eden Bigham to slam the door. She kept NC State off balance well all night. We talked about cleaning things up on defense and across the board I was happy about the effort and competitiveness. I see a fight and a hunger for our goals. It’s a big and emotional weekend for us, but at the end of the day we know it’s about bigger things than us. We’re ready to go back to work for game two tomorrow.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia and NC State play game two of the series at 2 p.m. on Saturday (April 13). It will be Youth Day and Alumni Day at Palmer Park. Youth under 18 are admitted free with the purchase of an adult general admission ticket. Alumni of the program – including those of the 1994 ACC Championship team – will be honored prior to the start of the game.