After taking a home series against California last weekend, No. 22 Virginia took a trip to South Bend, Ind. to visit ACC rival Notre Dame. The Cavaliers (25-8, 7-3 ACC) coming off their first loss at home were hoping to pick up some wins on the road but were met with two additional losses instead.
The first game slated for Friday evening started promisingly but ended poorly. Virginia got on the board early, scoring in the top of the first inning thanks to a sacrifice fly by junior utility player MC Eaton, scoring senior catcher Sarah Coon. Despite the Fighting Irish (16-20, 4-8 ACC) threatening in both the bottom of the first and second, the Cavaliers were able to get out of it with an exciting rundown between first and second base and solid pitching.
Virginia kept things going in the top of the third inning, when senior outfielder Kailyn Jones and junior infielder Jade Hylton worked walks, senior outfielder Kelly Ayer hit a line-drive single, and sophomore infielder Bella Cabral hit a sacrifice-fly to bring a run in. Sophomore infielder Macee Eaton added to the lead when she hit a deep double to bring Hylton in, making it 3-0 Cavaliers.
But Notre Dame clawed back into the game after senior infielder Reece Holbrook committed a costly two-run error. In the next at bat, senior catcher Rachel Allen doubled to center field, scoring another run and tying the game at 3-3. The Fighting Irish then took the lead in the bottom of the fourth off of a sacrifice fly and loaded the bases with two outs, but junior pitcher Eden Bigham was able to escape the jam.
However, Virginia got a taste of its own medicine in the next inning when the Cavaliers loaded the bases with no outs but failed to capitalize, recording three straight outs. The next couple innings were a defensive showdown, with Virginia attempting to tie the game. During the Cavaliers’ last chance in the top of the seventh, things looked promising with a runner on first and second with no outs, but Virginia was unable to get anything done, falling 4-3 to Notre Dame.
“To win games on the road you have to come up with that big hit in the timely moment, we made some mistakes that cost us extra bases,” Coach Joanna Hardin said after the loss. “To maintain in this league, we have to play clean and to execute when the game calls for us and we didn’t do that tonight.”
The inability to execute spilled over into Saturday for Virginia, as its defense was unable to stop Notre Dame’s offense. After a three-hour rain delay, the Cavaliers struck first with a solid line drive to right field from Macee Eaton to score Ayer. However, the 1-0 lead did not last for long for Virginia, as the Fighting Irish moved in front during the second inning with a two-RBI triple from freshman utility Caroline O’Brien and a groundout to squeeze in another, making it 3-1.
The third inning presented the opportunity for the Cavaliers to cut the lead, making it 3-2 after Hylton made her way around the bases to allow Cabral’s sacrifice fly to left field to score her. But the Fighting Irish kept fighting, forcing multiple walks and recording timely hits to bring in another run. Sophomore pitcher Julia Cuozzo was able to get out of the inning, but Notre Dame just kept it going in the bottom of the fourth, capitalizing off of careless Cavalier errors to make it 5-2.
The last two runs for the Fighting Irish came from a hit to left field, increasing the lead to five runs. The Virginia offense attempted to get something done over the course of the next few innings but came up with nothing but a tough 7-2 loss.
“We came out ready to go and expecting to win, but you have to play consistent softball in this league if you want to win at a high clip,” Hardin said. “You have to execute from the circle, defensively and offensively, and we looked a little off balance at the end there.”
After a significant amount of rain, game three of the series was pushed back to Sunday morning, where the Cavaliers looked more like themselves. Notre Dame got one on the board early with a long-shot homerun to make it 1-0. But the scoring stopped there as the game quickly became a pitcher’s duel between both bullpens, each side putting together a compliment of pitches to retire the other.
At the top of the sixth inning, Virginia was finally able to break through with a timely double from Coon to bring in Ayer and tie it at 1-1. Junior pitcher Eden Bigham held the Fighting Irish scoreless in the seventh, taking the game to extra innings. In the first at bat in the top of the eighth, Macee Eaton got all of a pitch and launched it to deep center, giving them their first lead of the game on a solo home run.
However, a one-run lead was not enough to stop Notre Dame, with their first batter in the bottom of the eighth sending the ball to deep right, just over junior outfielder Kelsey Hackett’s glove. After three Bigham outs, the game headed to the ninth where the Cavaliers responded yet again with a single from Ayer which scored junior outfielder Kassidy Hudson. Insurance was added when Macee Eaton hit a hard grounder to get Hylton home.
With a 4-2 lead and two outs in the bottom of the ninth, the game looked just about over — true to their name, though, the Fighting Irish rallied, manufacturing ways to get on base, and loading the bases. Freshman infielder Kaia Cortes then punched one in on a line drive to center. The runner at second tried to score but was initially ruled out on the throw.
After a lengthy review, however, it was declared that senior catcher Sydney Hartgrove interfered at home, tying the game at 4-4. This call lit a fire under the Virginia offense, as Hylton quickly responded with a two-run homer to center field. After a solid inning of work, Bigham was able to put the game in the books at 6-4, tallying a much-needed win for the Cavaliers.
Although the weekend ended on a high, Virginia lost its composure against unranked Notre Dame and suffered two major losses that will affect its rank. The Cavaliers will return home Tuesday at 5 p.m. for a midweek showdown against Maryland before heading back down to the Sunshine State to play No. 10 Florida State.
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