No. 25 Virginia Drops Slugfest With No. 8 Florida State

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Miscues proved costly down the stretch on Saturday (April 5) as the home team rallied and No. 25 Virginia (27-11, 8-6 ACC) dropped a slugfest at No. 8 Florida State (35-6, 10-1 ACC) by a score of 9-8 at Joanne Graf Field.

The teams will play the rubber match of the series on Sunday (April 6) at noon.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia struck in the third with a two-out rally. After the Hoos put two on, Florida State intentionally walked Bella Cabral to load the bases and bring Macee Eaton to the plate. Macee flared a ball over second into the gap in right center to bring two runs home and leave runners at the corner. Following a pitching change, Sarah Coon welcomed the new Seminole to the circle with a double to the wall and put the Hoos up 4-0.

Florida State answered in the home half of the third, loading the bases with one out. The Hoos traded an out for a run on a ground ball to third, taking the force at the hot corner to put two outs on the board. A foul fly ended the inning with UVA up 4-1.

The Cavaliers added three more runs in the fourth to take the lead to 7-1. The rally started with the bases loaded and one out as Kelly Ayer drove a single through the left side to bring the first run home. A sharp single to third from Bella Cabral brought a second run home before a groundout from Macee Eaton plated the seventh run of the game.

The Seminoles responded in the bottom of the inning with back-to-back hits to start the frame and bring a run home, sending Virginia to the bullpen. Back-to-back wild pitches brought a second run home to cut the lead to 7-3 before Eden Bigham would get the Cavaliers out of the inning.

Virginia again answered with a solo shot to left from MC Eaton in the fifth to make it 8-3 for the Hoos.

Back-to-back hits started the bottom of the fifth for the Seminoles and cut the lead to 8-4. With one out, a fielding error at third loaded the bases for FSU before a walk brought a fifth run home in the game.  Florida State took the lead in the sixth, capitalizing on an error in center and a home run that snuck over the left field fence and just past the glove of a leaping fielder to grab the 9-8 win.

Eden Bigham (10-6) took the loss in relief, allowing six runs – three of them earned – on four hits through 4.0 innings of work. She walked three and struck out three in her time in the circle.

Jazzy Francik (6-2) picked up the win in relief as she worked the final 3.1 innings. She allowed one run on two hits with a walk and a strikeout.

NOTING THE HOOS
• It was the 12th one-run game of the season for the Hoos who are now 6-6 in games decided by a run.
• Macee Eaton’s three RBI took her season total out to 47 which is tied for sixth most in a season at Virginia.
• Kelly Ayer’s steal in the first inning took her career total to 46, one behind Jade Hylton as the pair hold the ninth and 10th spot in career steals at UVA.
• MC Eaton’s home run in the fifth inning was her seventh of the season.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“There was a ton of fight today on both sides and everyone had moments. As we continue through the back half of conference play, the margin for error is really small. We attacked, we got pitches we could handle and hit them hard. One of our keys was to make adjustments as they adjusted, and we did a good job of that. We put up eight runs and that’s a big number against a great pitching staff. I don’t question our effort, but a couple of mistakes were costly, and it was hard to come back after that. It’s all gas from here on out. We’ll have to scratch and claw to get it tomorrow, but it’s a great opponent in a great atmosphere. We have to learn how to walk it down when the stakes are high in a high-pressure situation. We need to come out and execute; they’ve seen all we have, and we’ve seen all they have so it will be a boxing match, and we hope to be able to throw the last punch.”