No. 25 Virginia Rallies To Down Liberty 5-3

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Cavaliers got home runs from MC Eaton and Jade Hylton and used a four-run fourth inning as No. 25 Virginia (36-16) rallied to defeat Liberty (41-11) by a score of 5-3 at Palmer Park on Wednesday (April 30).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Liberty scored in the first with a leadoff double and a pair of wild pitches leading to a run. An error on a throwdown between third and home led to a second run in the second inning as Liberty moved out to the 2-0 lead.

MC Eaton homered in the second inning with a towering shot off the scoreboard in left field to get the Hoos on the board and cut the lead to 2-1. Liberty answered again in the third, taking advantage of a rundown between first and second to get the runner on third home for the 3-1 lead.

The Cavaliers took the lead in the fourth, starting a rally with a two-RBI double from Kailyn Jones that scored MC Eaton and Kelsey Hackett. MC Eaton reached on a walk, winning an 11-pitch at bat, before Hackett singled up the middle. Hylton homered off the scoreboard in the next at bat to put the Hoos on top 5-3.

Eden Bigham (16-8) picked up the win as she allowed three runs – one of them earned – on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

Paige Bachman (10-3) took the loss in relief, allowing three runs on two hits with a walk through 2.0 innings of relief work. She entered the game with one out in the second.

NOTING THE HOOS
• MC Eaton hit her 10th home run of the season with the solo shot in the second inning.
• Jade Hylton’s home run was her 17th of the season and 41st of her career.
• Hylton also scored her 60th run of the season to tie Heather Field (2004) for most runs scored in a season at Virginia.

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“It was a tale of two games. We were a little sloppy at the beginning, but I loved the response and that is important. A quality of a great team is how do they bounce back when things don’t go their way. Do we rise up or shut down? We rose up and kept competing. It’s frustrating to underperform and play below your capability and make simple, uncharacteristic mistakes that are costly. I was proud we kept fighting and kept going. KJ (Kailyn Jones) had an awesome day and just stayed with it. She got the two RBI double and did a great job. The key to that is poise and we stayed poised. When we play seven innings and put it together for a full seven, we are a very good softball team. We got feedback on what we need to work on and attack this weekend, we’re going to rest up and get ready for the ACC Tournament.”

“Our fans are awesome. They have showed out and shown up for every game. You don’t go 26-2 at home without awesome support. We love playing here, not only is it a beautiful facility, but the people who have our back and have been supporting us – we appreciate what you bring. Thank  you Wahoo Nation, you have been the difference.”

UP NEXT FOR THE HOOS
Virginia will play in the ACC Tournament next week and awaits seeding and opponent information that will be announced upon the conclusion of this weekend’s ACC games. The Cavaliers have a bye weekend due to finals this weekend.