#23 Duke completed a weekend series sweep of #12 Virginia with an 8-4 win on Saturday in Durham.
The ’Hoos (31-6, 9-5 ACC) took the early lead in the second when Jade Hylton delivered a two-out single to left, driving in Hannah Weismer.
Macee Eaton got the lead out to 2-0 with a solo home run in the third before the doors came off on UVA starter Eden Bigham in the bottom of the third.
Duke (28-11, 13-2 ACC) loaded the bases with a pair of walks and a hit batter, then strung together a bases-loaded walk, a double, a triple and used an obstruction call at the plate to go in front with a 6-2 lead.
A Hylton home run and an RBI single from Reagan Hickey pulled the Cavaliers back within two in the fourth, but Duke again responded with a two-run home half to put the game at 8-4 after four complete and maintained the lead down the stretch.
Bigham (10-1) took the loss, allowing five runs on two hits with three walks and a strikeout through 2.1 innings of work.
“Our players fought really hard today and were super competitive. We had some gritty at bats. We had to move some things around and they did great handling that. You rise to occasions like this. Some of our players who hadn’t had a lot of time got huge experience, got quality at bats and the pitching staff gave us everything they had. That’s all we can ask,” Virginia coach Joanna Hardin said.
“It was about giving everything we had in the tank today, and I’m proud of the effort. We’ll take away a lot and learn a lot about film, softball and us as a team. Getting punched doesn’t knock us out. We’ll get back up and back at it next week,” Hardin said.
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Chris Graham
