Virginia Softball Sweeps Four Games in Rawlings Classic at Palmer Park
In front of a home crowd for the first time this season, Virginia softball did not disappoint. The Cavaliers gave up just one run in four games en route to a 4-0 record in the Rawlings Classic, bringing the team’s record to 10-4 overall.
Friday 2/23 (Game 1): Virginia 9, Lehigh 0 (5 innings)
On a weekend where UVA’s pitchers shined, Eden Bigham was the star of this matchup. In her five innings of work, she only gave up one hit and struck out an astonishing 14 out of the 16 batters she faced.
Virginia’s offense gave Bigham far more support than she needed. Jade Hylton got things going with a three-run blast in the first, and Sarah Coon checked in with an RBI double in the second inning. The fifth inning put the game out of reach. First, pinch runner Kamyria Woody-Giggetts stole second and third and then scored on a wild pitch. After a fielder’s choice and two walks loaded the bases, Kelly Ayer hit an RBI single, Sarah Coon had an RBI groundout, and Jade Hylton had a two-run double, securing the run rule victory. Hylton had a great day at the plate, going 3 for 3 with five RBI.
Saturday 2/24 (Game 2): Virginia 7, Lehigh 1
Since weather caused the weekend schedule to change, Virginia played Lehigh again. This time, three pitchers combined to allow four hits and one run, and the offense had 13 hits.
Virginia put up three runs in the second inning courtesy of a fielding error and a fielder’s choice. With three walks and several wild pitches, the Hoos manufactured three runs off of just one hit. Defensively, UVA had some nice plays with a 3-0 lead, including a 3-6 double play from Macee Eaton in the fourth and a play at the plate in the fifth inning, where Kelly Ayer’s throw prevented the second run from scoring on a single.
Ayer managed to respond with an RBI triple to reestablish the three-run lead, and then Jade Hylton came up with a two-run single and then scored on Bella Cabral’s RBI double. All four runs in the inning came with two outs. Savanah Henley and Courtney Layne pitched well to set up Madi Harris for the save, and she now has tied the UVA career save record with nine total saves.
Sunday 2/25 (Game 3): Virginia 1, Iowa State 0
Game three against Iowa State was a classic pitcher’s duel, with Savanah Henley and Eden Bigham outlasting Iowa State's Karlie Charles. There were just six total hits in a game that went nine innings, so there weren’t a lot of chances to score. Iowa State threatened in the first inning after the leadoff hitter stole third with two outs, but Henley got the strikeout. Iowa State retired the entire Virginia lineup in order the first time around, but Jade Hylton was able to get a double in her second at-bat and advance to third, but the Hoos couldn’t score. Hylton was the hot hand and had Virginia’s second hit of the game as well, singling and stealing second in the bottom of the seventh. Once again, UVA couldn’t push the run across.
Eden Bigham gave up a double in the eighth inning, the only blemish on a six-inning, nine-strikeout performance, but she got out of the jam with a running catch as she ran towards the dugout. Finally, Leah Boggs got things going in the ninth inning with a single, and then Kamyria Woody-Giggetts used her speed as a pinch runner to tag up on a foul ball flyout and advance to second and steal third. Sarah Coon came up with the clutch hit as she singled to bring in the winning run, and the Hoos celebrated the walk-off win on the field.
Sunday 2/25 (Game 4): Virginia 5, Delaware 0
Virginia got its fourth win of the weekend thanks to a five-run second inning in which M.C. Eaton had an RBI double, Abby Weaver had an RBI single, and Sarah Coon hit a three-run homer, continuing her heroics from the previous game. Kailyn Jones also had a great day at the plate, going 3 for 3 and scoring a run. Madi Harris and Mikayla Houge got things done in the circle, combining for the shoutout and only issuing one walk. While Virginia had runners on base in other innings, the crooked number in the second inning was enough run support.
It was an exciting weekend in Charlottesville to have college softball back, even though it wasn’t in the best weather. Four Cavalier wins certainly adds to this sentiment. Virginia will have a doubleheader against Radford on Tuesday before beginning ACC play against Boston College next the weekend.
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