No. 25 Virginia Shuts Out JMU In Midweek Tilt

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavaliers’ pitchers delivered on Tuesday (March 11) as No. 25 Virginia (18-7) shut out JMU (11-10) for a 6-0 victory at Palmer Park.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Bella Cabral got things started for the offense with a solo shot to left in the first inning.

Virginia added four more runs in the fourth inning to take the lead to 5-0. With two outs, the Cavaliers drew three straight walks to put Sarah Coon, Kailyn Jones and Jade Hylton on base. Kelly Ayer drove a ball back up the middle to score Coon and Jones, leaving Hylton at third. A double steal attempt put Ayer at second and Hylton scored on the steal of home for the 5-0 lead.

The Hoos added a sixth run in the fifth inning with a sac fly to center from Kailyn Jones to score Reece Holbrook from third. Holbrook opened the inning with a double to center and took third on a wild pitch to set up the score on the fly ball from Jones.

Savanah Henley (5-1) picked up the win in relief, entering to start the third in relief of starter Julia Cuozzo. Henley scattered three hits with two walks and five strikeouts across her 5.0 innings of work. Cuozzo struck out two and allowed three hits in her start.

Madalyn Johnson (1-4) took the loss for the Dukes, allowing five runs on six hits with four walks and four strikeouts through 3.2 innings of work.

NOTING THE HOOS
• Virginia improved to 28-25 all-time against JMU and has won four straight games in the series.
• Bella Cabral’s home run in the first inning was her fifth of the season and she is tied for the team lead in home runs with Jade Hylton, Macee Eaton and MC Eaton.
• With her 3-for-4 day at the plate and a triple away from the cycle, Cabral raised her batting average to .400 for the season and she boasts a team-leading .743 slugging percentage.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“We love being at home. Palmer Park is amazing, our fans are great and we had a great turnout even though we’re on spring break. Our players competed really hard today. Julia (Cuozzo) had two shut down innings and was really spinning it well. Savanah (Henley) came in behind her and really locked it down. I like we got ourselves in some jams and then got ourselves out of them. That’s going to be really important to be able to do that. Kelly Ayer delivered with two outs and the bases loaded and great offenses have to find a way to execute with two outs. It was a great game against a great program in JMU. We’re excited to get some rest and prepare for Boston College this weekend.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia continues to play at home this weekend with a three-game set against Boston College. Game one is set for a 5 p.m. first pitch on Friday (March 14). It will be Pi Day at Palmer Park and the first 200 fans receive a free personal pizza from Papa John’s.