Courtesy UVA Sports Media Relations
After 25 years, Virginia softball bid farewell to The Park in the most fitting of fashions as Allyson Frei fired a no-hitter in the final game at the facility. The Cavaliers swept Tuesday’s doubleheader from Hampton to close the regular season on a five-game winning streak.
Virginia (22-30) downed the Lady Pirates 5-2 in game one before Frei worked her masterpiece for an 8-0 win in the finale. The no-hitter was the 36th in program history and first solo no-no since 2009. After 478 games at The Park, Tuesday’s finale was just the third no-hitter in facility history.
GAME ONE: Virginia 5, Hampton 2
Freshman Aly Rayle picked up her fourth consecutive win in the circle, working a complete game while allowing just a single earned run. Rayle (10-12) struck out seven Lady Pirates (23-25).
At the plate, Hayley Busby launched a solo home run as part of her fifth straight multi-hit effort. She added an RBI-double to provide two runs in the game. Earlier in the day, Busby was named ACC Player of the Week.
KEY INNING
Kate Covington took the first pitch of the second inning off the elbow to start a three-run Virginia frame. A fielder’s choice put two aboard as Hampton was unable to record an out. Arizona Ritchie laid down a sacrifice bunt and reached on an error as the first run came around to score. A pair of sac flies from Busby and Lacy Smith produced the final two runs of the inning.
TOUCHING HOME
- Busby led off the first with her 11th homer of the season, giving Virginia a 1-0 lead.
- Virginia scored three times in the second before recording a hit. Busby and Smith recorded RBI in the inning.
- Three two-out singles in the sixth plated a Hampton run and an error added another to make it a 4-2 game.
- Busby drove home Virginia’s fifth run of the game with an RBI-double in the sixth.
ON THE LINES
- Busby’s double was her 17th of the season, the sixth most in Virginia history.
- Busby extended her hitting streak to 12 games with her lead-off home run.
- Erika Osherow finished 2 for 3 at the plate.
GAME TWO: Virginia 8, Hampton 0 (5 Inn.)
Frei’s first career no-hitter wrote the perfect ending for Virginia at The Park. The Cavaliers added 12 hits to put eight runs on the board and earn a fifth-straight win.
KEY INNING
Ritchie doubled with one out to open a string of three consecutive knocks for the Cavaliers in the bottom of the fourth. Busby followed with a single to left and Smith brought the pair home with a two-run single.
A walk put two aboard for Abigail Barber, who roped a line drive to right field. The ball went under a sliding Pirate and rolled all the way to the wall as Barber raced around the bags for Virginia’s first inside-the-park homer since 2004. The five-run frame built a 7-0 lead.
TOUCHING HOME
- Barber singled off the pitcher with the bases loaded in the first inning to put Virginia up 1-0.
- Donna Friedman produced a two-out single in the third to extend Virginia’s lead to 2-0.
- Barber’s inside-the-parker capped a five-run fourth inning for the Cavaliers, building a 7-0 lead.
- Covington doubled to start the fifth and crossed the plate on Ritchie’s walk-off single to left.
ON THE LINES
- Frei struck out three Lady Pirates in the no-hitter.
- Busby went 3 for 3 to extend her hitting streak to 13 games and make it six straight with multiple hits.
- Smith was 2 for 3 with a pair of RBI. She finishes the regular season hitting .413.
- Barber finished 2 for 3 with a career-high four RBI.
UP NEXT
Virginia will await its seeding for the 2019 ACC Softball Championships. Play at the tournament begins next Wednesday (May 8) in Tallahassee, Fla.
