Virginia Falls In Series Finale With Cal

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 23 Virginia softball team (24-8, 6-3 ACC) missed out on a series sweep on Sunday (March 23) as the Cavaliers fell to Cal (23-7, 6-3 ACC) by a score of 12-3 in six innings.

Virginia won the first two games to take the weekend series with the Golden Bears.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Cal scored in the first inning with an infield single to third – a swinging bunt – with the bases loaded. Virginia answered in the bottom of the inning, taking the lead on a sac fly from Bella Cabral and a groundout from Macee Eaton.

Cal manufactured a run in the second, executing the back end of a delayed double steal attempt. The Hoos got the runner on first in a rundown, but the runner on third scored before the tag to tie the game. Virginia moved back in front in the home half with a single through the left side from Hylton that scored Sydney Hartgrove from third.

The Golden Bears pushed three home in the third to reclaim the lead. A play at the plate on a ground ball back to the pitcher saw the Cal player slide in under the tag and the Bears followed it up with a two-RBI double to left center with one out for the 5-3 advantage. Cal went on to load the bases before a single to right and a bases loaded walk pushed the lead to 7-3 and a Cavalier pitching change. Savanah Henley then retired the next two batters to end the inning.

Cal extended the lead with a five-run sixth inning to make it a 12-3 advantage. The Hoos loaded the bases in the bottom of the sixth, but couldn’t produce a third game-winning rally in the series as the Bears took the win.

Eden Bigham (7-4) took the loss as she allowed seven runs on seven hits with five walks and three strikeouts through 2.1 innings of work.

Annabel Teperson (2-1) picked up the win as she allowed three runs on seven hits with three walks and a strikeout in the complete game effort.

NOTING THE HOOS
• Sophomore Bella Cabral upped her batting average to .416 after going 1-for-1 with a sac fly and walk.
• Macee Eaton had her hit streak ended at 18 games – the longest hit streak by a Hoo since 1999.
• The Cavaliers won their second ACC series of the year and have won 9 of the last 11 ACC series played.
• The loss was the first at home for the Hoos who are 18-1 at Palmer Park this season.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“Sweeping is really tough in this league and we knew Cal was going to come out ready to go. There was a compilation of some mental mistakes that compounded, and Cal really took advantage of those; some things that were outside of our character. Momentum is a real thing, and the momentum started and stayed on their side. I loved our fight back in the beginning to put up some runs and fight back, but we couldn’t really stop the bleeding in a couple of those innings. There are a lot of things to take away from today, but at the end of the day it’s a long season. We have a lot to learn and I’m excited to get back after it, have a week of practice and get back to the basics of what we do and how we do things. We get to go back to work and get ready for another tough series at Notre Dame. I’m proud of the weekend overall and just ready to get back to work.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia return to action next weekend with a road series at Notre Dame. The three-game set is slated to begin on Friday (March 28) at 6 p.m. in Notre Dame, Ind.