Softball: Cabral’s two homers lifts Virginia to 4-1 victory at Longwood

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Posted on Tuesday, Mar. 5, 2024, 7:00 pm

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Courtesy UVA Media Relations

Photo: UVA Athletics

Bella Cabral hit two home runs and Savanah Henley tossed a complete game to lead Virginia to a 4-1 victory at Longwood on Tuesday.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Virginia (14-5) came out of the gates hot with back-to-back home runs to left from Jade Hylton and Cabral to push the Hoos out to a 2-0 lead.

The Cavaliers added a third run in the third inning. Cabral singled to left to open the inning and took second on a groundout to get into scoring position. Macee Eaton then drove a ball back up the middle to bring Cabral home and put Virginia up 3-0.

Longwood (6-12) got on the board in the fifth, taking advantage of an error with one out to put runners at the corners before a groundout to short from Avery Drake brought home Lauren Taylor.

Cabral hit her second home run of the day in the seventh, getting the Hoos the run back with her shot over the left field wall. The run capped the scoring on the day.

Henley (3-0) worked a complete game, allowing the one unearned run on one hit.

ADDITIONAL NOTES

  • Hylton’s home run to open the game was the first leadoff home run for the Hoos since Hylton did it against No. 13 Virginia Tech last season (4/6/23).
  • Cabral now has three home runs on the season with her two long balls on Tuesday.
  • It’s the first time the Hoos have gone back-to-back since doing it twice last season in a single game against Pittsburgh (3/26/23).
  • Henley’s complete game was her first since game two of the Syracuse series last season (4/28/23).

FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN

“We talked about coming out and competing hard. We wanted to make some adjustments from the weekend and the team was invested across the board. We need to play selfless, team-winning softball. Bella Cabral has been chipping away and she’s a good hitter, so it was fun to see her do what she’s capable of doing. Savanah Henley throwing the complete game was exactly what we needed in the midweek. We’re going to keep evaluating and making adjustments as we roll into the weekend at UNC.”

UP NEXT

Virginia continues to play on the road this weekend with a three-game set in ACC play at North Carolina. The series is set to begin at 5 p.m. on Friday and continues with a single game at 1 p.m. on Saturday and the finale at noon on Sunday.