The first pitch left senior pitcher Courtney Layne’s hand at 12:02 p.m., and exactly two hours later at 2:02 p.m., Virginia had completed its first ACC sweep of the season against Pitt. Smiles were painted across the team's face as they sang “The Good Old Song” to the crowd, knowing what their reward would soon be — ice cream.
“I’m very excited to get ice cream,” junior infielder Bella Cabral said. “[Hopefully] we get cookie dough, that’s my jam.”
The Cavaliers (31-3, 9-2 ACC) had already put on two shows against the Panthers (17-16, 4-8 ACC) on Friday and Saturday at Palmer Park, making it more likely that this game would move a little bit slower. The 15 MPH wind facing towards the plate did not help either, with many balls being reigned back in.
The game began with a fielding error by Cabral, putting Pitt senior infielder Tieley Vaughn on first. However, on the next pitch senior infielder Jade Hylton picked her up, snagging a line drive out of the air and spraying Vaughn out at first for the double play. The inning ended following a pop-up to junior infielder Macee Eaton at first base.
With the crowd behind them, the Cavaliers were hoping to do what they have done in the previous two games versus the Panthers — score in the first inning. Instead, they were met with a quick 1-2-3 inning. The second inning consisted of solid work from both team’s pitchers, with Layne striking out three batters in a row by the top of the third.
In the bottom of the inning and still no score, it was time for the Virginia offense to get things going. Freshman outfielder Jaiden Griffith got the offense moving with a swinging bunt for an infield single, advancing to third two batters later when senior outfielder Kassidy Hudson reached first on a throwing error.
With two outs and powerhouse Eaton up to bat, the Pitt coaching staff was presented with a difficult choice — whether to pitch to her or intentionally walk her. The staff settled on the second option, throwing four straight balls to Eaton. Now bases loaded, “Black Out Days,” by Phantogram started to play as Cabral stepped into the box.
On the first pitch of the at-bat, Cabral knocked one right into the left-field wall, clearing the bases. As Cabral rounded second, her fists pumped into the air in celebration for her ninth double of the season.
“It kind of rubbed me the wrong way, so I was amped up and ready to go at that moment,” Cabral said. “I've never been on that side of the [the intentional walk], so it was fun to get the opportunity to be like, ‘Yeah it's my time to shine.’”
In the top of the fourth for the Panthers, a lead-off double by Vaughn helped her get on base. Using her speed, she was able to put herself in a position to score from third on a sacrifice fly to right-field, the first run for Pitt on the board since game two’s fourth inning. The run was also the first one scored off the Cavaliers in the last six games that was not a home run.
The Panthers looked to keep adding in the top of the fifth when senior pitcher Eden Bigham entered the game and walked the first batter. The next batter hit a blooper into shallow center-field, giving freshman infielder Sofia Meer the potential to change the game. After a hard-fought at-bat, Bigham caught her chasing the rise ball to get a much-needed out.
Bigham and the defense were able to settle in for the remainder of the inning, shutting down any potential threat. The bottom of the inning started in the heart of the Virginia line-up, with two-hitter Hudson reaching on a walk. This time Eaton was not intentionally walked, instead hitting a line drive into left-field — however, after the damage Cabral did to Pitt her last time up to bat, it was her turn for four straight inside balls and a free trip to first.
Bases loaded and no outs gave senior outfield Kelsey Hackett the opportunity to cut the game wide open — an opportunity that was cut short by a controversial infield fly call. While the umpires went to review, Hudson, Eaton and Cabral had a dance competition at their respective bases, the crowd dancing along with them. Cheers for Eaton’s victory quickly turned to boos when the umpire came back, confirming that Hackett was, in fact, out.
Sophomore infielder Alex Call was able to punch Hudson in on a fielder’s choice, bringing the score to 4-1 before the Pitt defense prevented any more damage. The sixth and seventh innings consisted of several diving catches from Hudson and Cabral, and a textbook final strikeout from Bigham sent the Panthers packing back to Pittsburgh.
The triumph marks the Cavalier’s ninth win in conference play and a highly desired series sweep for the program.
“It's hard to win a series — it's hard to sweep,” Coach Joanna Hardin said. “And we know we have a stretch coming up … so I think it gives us confidence and gives us a lot of feedback to work on.”
The stretch Coach Hardin is referring to is the upcoming hard-hitting conference opponents of April, starting with Duke, then Virginia Tech and Clemson. Although each series will be highly contested, the Cavaliers have set themselves well, especially considering that they have suffered only three losses.
When asked about the upcoming weekend series against Duke, Coach Hardin had three words to say.
“Bring it on.”
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