Virginia Cavaliers softball — Photo courtesy of Virginia Athletics Communications

UVA Softball Wins Three Games at Charleston Southern Tournament

The Cavaliers went 3-2 in five games against Charleston Southern and Sacred Heart this weekend

Author:
Matt Newton
Publish date:
Feb 21, 2022 12:40 PM EST

The Virginia softball team competed in the Charleston Southern Softball Tournament in Charleston, South Carolina this weekend, playing a total of five games against Charleston Southern and Sacred Heart. The Cavaliers went 3-2 in the five games, winning two out of three against Sacred Heart and splitting two games with Charleston Southern.

Friday (2/18): Virginia 4, Sacred Heart 5

The Cavaliers put up four runs in the bottom of the second inning on a two-run single by Arizona Ritchie, an RBI single from Katie Goldberg, and Bailey Winscott stealing home. Unfortunately for the Wahoos, they also gave up two runs in the top of the first and three runs in the top of third. Neither team managed to score any runs through the rest of the game and Virginia stranded two runners on base in the bottom of the seventh as the Cavaliers fell to Sacred Heart 5-4 in the opening game of the tournament.

Friday (2/18): Virginia 4, Charleston Southern 1

Mikayla Houge gave up a solo home run in the first inning, but settled in after that and delivered six scoreless innings in a complete-game in which she gave up just three hits and one earned run. Virginia tied the game in the top of the fourth, as Tori Gilbert scored on a sacrifice fly from freshman Sarah Coon. In the top of sixth, Coon drove in a run with a double and then Gilbert scored for the second time on an error. UVA tacked on another run in the top of the seventh as Gilbert brought in Lauren VanAssche with a sacrifice fly. Houge finished the complete game in the bottom of the seventh to close out the 4-1 win for the Cavaliers.

Saturday (2/19): Virginia 9, Sacred Heart 4

In the rematch with Sacred Heart on Saturday, the Virginia bats came alive as the Hoos put up one run in the first, two in the third, three in the fourth, and three in the sixth en route to a 9-4 win. Sarah Coon hit a two-run home run in the sixth and went 2-3 with four RBIs in the game. Houge started again and gave up four earned runs in three and a third innings pitched before being replaced by Mackenzie Wooten, who finished the game, throwing three and two-thirds scoreless innings and giving up just three hits in the win.

Saturday (2/19): Virginia 2, Charleston Southern 5

In the second game on Saturday, Charleston Southern avenged its earlier loss with a 5-2 win over UVA. The Buccaneers scored three in the first inning and two in the fourth and the Cavaliers couldn't keep up, despite having an 8-5 advantage in hits in the game. Virginia stranded six runners on base. Charleston Southern pitcher Blake Holtorf pitched a complete game and gave up just two runs.

Sunday (2/20): Virginia 8, Sacred Heart 0 (5 innings)

In the final game of the Charleston Southern Softball Tournament, Virginia and Sacred Heart played the rubber match of their three-game series. The Cavaliers capped off the weekend in dominant fashion, crushing Sacred Heart 8-0 in a run-rule victory in just five innings. Katie Goldberg hit two home-runs and had three RBIs in the game. The Cavaliers put up five runs in the bottom of the second, one in the third, and two in the fourth. Molly Grube and Mikayla Houge combined for the five-inning shutout on the mound, with Grube striking out five and giving up three hits in 2.2 innings of work and Houge finishing it off with 2.1 innings without allowing a hit.

Virginia went 3-2 in the weekend tournament and now sits at 5-5 through the first ten games of the season.

Up next, the Cavaliers will play in another five-game tournament as they compete in the UNCG Invitational next weekend in Greensboro, North Carolina. Virginia plays Towson and Bucknell on Friday, Towson and Loyola-Chicago on Saturday, and UNC-Greensboro on Sunday.

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