Photo courtesy of Olivia Taylor/Virginia Athletics Communications
UVA Softball Swept by No. 13 Duke
After starting the year with a program-best start of 8-1 in ACC play, UVA softball has had some rough sledding in back-to-back home series against top 15 opponents. Virginia lost each of a three-game series last weekend against No. 2 Florida State, rebounded with a win over JMU, but was then swept by No. 13 Duke this weekend at Palmer Park.
Game 1 - Saturday (4/9): Duke 8, Virginia 5
Duke scored runs in bunches in the series opener, with three runs in the second inning and two in the third inning. Jameson Kavel had a two-run double and Kristina Foreman had an RBI double as well in the early inning highlights.
Virginia scored two runs in the bottom of the third as Tori Gilbert singled and Arizona Ritchie scored on an error. Then, Bailey Winscott and Tori Gilbert executed a double steal, with Winscott scoring the second run.
The Cavaliers added another run on a Gabby Baylog double in the fourth inning to bring the score to 5-3, but then Kamryn Jackson hit a two-run homer to give the Blue Devils some breathing room after a Cavalier error put a runner on base with two outs.
Abby Weaver and Lauren VanAssche hit RBI singles in the bottom of the sixth, but VanAssche was thrown out trying to advance to second base and the Cavaliers were unable to continue the rally, falling 8-5.
Jala Wright earned the win for the Blue Devils with 5.2 innings of work and Peyton St. George registered the save. Molly Grube took the loss for the Cavaliers. Gabby Baylog and Lauren VanAssche each went 2-3 with an RBI apiece to pace the Cavaliers. Kelly Torres and Kristina Foreman went 2-4 for Duke.
Game 2 - Saturday (4/9): Duke 6, Virginia 1
The Blue Devils continued to flex their offensive firepower in game two of the Saturday doubleheader, registering ten hits and six runs.
Ana Gold opened up the scoring with an RBI double in the first, and then Kamryn Jackson hit her second home run of the day and Deja Davis added a double, giving Duke a 4-0 lead after two innings.
Davis also had an RBI triple and single in the contest, leaving her just a home run short of the cycle in an impressive showing. She was 3-3 with 3 RBIs on the day.
Donna Friedman drove in the Cavaliers’ lone run in the fourth inning with a single to left field.
Peyton St. George earned her sixteenth win in a complete game for Duke with eight strikeouts, while Aly Rayle was the losing pitcher for Virginia.
Game 3 - Saturday (4/10): Duke 10, Virginia 2 (6 innings)
In the series finale, Virginia took its first lead of the series when Katie Goldberg singled to bring in Tori Gilbert in the bottom of the first inning. On defense, Molly Grube cruised through the first two innings with her defense looking solid behind her.
However, the third inning was a tough one for the Cavaliers. Duke managed to put up seven runs on five hits while also taking advantage of an error, a walk, and a hit by pitch.
The Cavaliers got the first two outs of the inning including a force out at home, so the bases were loaded with two outs. Rachel Crabtree managed a two-run single and Ana Gold reached on an error. After that, Kristina Foreman added a two-run single and then Caroline Jacobsen put the real dagger with a two-run home run, bringing the lead to 7-1.
Only two of the seven runs Molly Grube allowed were earned, so the Blue Devils took full advantage of the Cavalier miscue.
In the sixth inning, Jameson Kavel drilled a three-run home run to center field to extend the lead to 10-1. Reece Holbrook hit a sacrifice fly in the bottom of the sixth for the Cavaliers, but this wasn’t enough to prevent the run rule after six innings.
Jala Wright earned her second win of the series and Molly Grube took the unfortunate loss for the Cavaliers.
Virginia falls to 22-19 and 8-7 in ACC play. Next weekend, the Cavaliers travel to Blacksburg to take on No. 4 Virginia Tech in the Commonwealth Clash. The Hokes are having a tremendous season, having lost just one game in ACC play and turning in a 29-5 overall record thus far.
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