After splitting the first two games of the weekend series with N.C. State (19-18, 3-6), the Cavaliers found themselves down by a run in the bottom of the seventh inning Sunday. With one out and runners on second and third, freshman Alison Pittman hit a ground ball to first base.
"Coach told me to take it down the right side so that's what I was trying to do," Pittman said. "I was just trying to tie the game up."
Pittman's ball got away from the first baseman, allowing freshman Jennifer Bowles to score from third. Senior Meghan O'Leary, after a brief pause at third, followed Bowles home for the 8-7 walk-off hit?.
"When I saw the ball was booted, I turned and I was running hard for home," O'Leary said. "And I slid down as I crossed home plate and it was great. I don't remember the last time I had that feeling. It was a huge win for us ... Everyone came together. Everyone had a piece of that win."
Virginia (11-23, 4-5) started and ended the weekend strong, beginning with a 4-0 win in game one of the doubleheader Saturday.
Junior righthander Karla Wilburn threw a complete game shutout against the Wolfpack, striking out three. It was Wilburn's second career shutout and her first of the season.
Offensively, eight Virginia starters had at least one hit. O'Leary punched through two hits and scored three runs, and senior Lindsey Preuss knocked in two runs on two hits for Virginia.
Things turned around completely for Virginia in the second game, however, when N.C. State junior Mendy McKenzie took the mound.
McKenzie held the Cavaliers hitless through six and two-thirds innings before junior Sarah Tacke hustled down the line to beat out an infield single in the bottom of the seventh inning. McKenzie struck out three and walked five in the 5-0 Wolfpack victory.
In the final game of the series, the Cavaliers struck early, scoring three runs in the first two innings before N.C. State broke out for four runs in the top of the third.
After chasing sophomore starter Lindsay Campana, the Cavaliers were held in check once again by McKenzie, who entered the game in the bottom of the third. Virginia did not score again until the sixth.
"Obviously it wasn't a pretty game, but we showed a lot of heart," Virginia coach Eileen Schmidt said. "It started out strong, went into a bit of a lull, but got the momentum back. That's what we needed."
Virginia fell behind 7-3 on three N.C. State home runs, two off Wilburn and one off senior Whitney Holstun. But the Cavaliers were looking for a comeback.
"I just think it was our determination to not let another game slide away," Pittman said. "We wanted to prove to ourselves that we could do it. We could battle back and we could win, and it was time for us to make a statement."
Virginia scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, but left the tying run on second base when Holstun struck out swinging.
The Cavaliers would not go away quietly, and it was Tacke, who broke up the no-hit bid on Saturday, who sent a single down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh to get things started.
Bowles came in to pinch-run, and O'Leary singled up the middle. An error, one of seven on the day for N.C. State, put Bowles on third and O'Leary on second before Pittman finished things off.
"We had a sense of confidence and we just knew that we had this game," O'Leary said. "We knew that we were a better team. I think we can really carry this through the rest of the conference, which is huge"
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