Virginia Softball Picks Up Midweek Road Wins Over Liberty and JMU
The Cavaliers kept the momentum going with two in-state road wins at Liberty and James Madison on Tuesday and Wednesday
Fresh off of earning one of the biggest series wins in program history, Virginia softball (22-10) kept the momentum going by picking up a pair of mid-week road victories over in-state opponents, knocking off Liberty 3-1 on Tuesday in Lynchburg and run-ruling James Madison 12-3 on Wednesday in Harrisonburg.
Tuesday, March 26: Virginia 3, Liberty 1
After rain delayed the start of the game by more than an hour, Virginia's offense got off to a strong start as Bella Cabral and Macee Eaton each delivered RBI doubles in the top of the first inning to give the Cavaliers a 2-0 lead. Although the Flames made some noise early and often, the UVA pitching staff held strong to limit Liberty to just one run.
Madi Harris picked up three strikeouts to work around a couple of baserunners in the first inning, but then gave up an RBI single in the bottom of the second. Eden Bigham entered the game in the second and, despite facing bases loaded situations in the second, third, and fifth innings, she managed to hold the Flames completely off the board. Bigham tossed 1-2-3 frames in the sixth and seventh innings to seal UVA's 3-1 victory.
Wednesday, March 27: Virginia 12, James Madison 3 (6 Inn.)
While Virginia largely relied on pitching to win on Tuesday, the UVA bats led the way on Wednesday at JMU. The Cavaliers again got off to a hot start with Macee Eaton and Lauren VanAssche hitting RBI singles on either side of a bases-clearing three-run double from Kelsey Hackett, giving Virginia a 5-0 lead right away. JMU got one run back in the bottom of the first, but the Cavaliers capitalized on the extra opportunity given by a fielding error to score three more runs in the second on a three-run home run by Shelby Barbee.
UVA tacked on another run on an RBI groundout by Cabral in the top of the third. Mikayla Houge tossed a scoreless second before giving way to Courtney Layne, who also put zeroes on the board in the third and fourth. JMU scored twice in the bottom of the fifth, but never got closer than that 9-3 margin.
Virginia then scored three runs in the top of the sixth on just one hit, as two runs scored on wild pitches and another came in on a bases loaded walk. Layne worked around a leadoff walk in the bottom of the sixth keep the Dukes at three runs and trigger the run rule with Virginia winning 12-3. The 12 runs were the most UVA has scored in a game all season.
Virginia (22-10) will stay on the road and in non-conference play this weekend with a pair of games at Villanova. The Cavaliers and Wildcats will play on Friday at 4:30pm and Saturday at 1pm.