UVa's Bigham named ACC pitcher of the week, Amherst to honor Procopio

It didn’t take her long to post her first college no-hitter at Virginia, and the Atlantic Coast Conference took notice of what the freshman right-hander did in the circle.

Bigham was named the ACC pitcher of the week on Tuesday for her first weekly honor from the conference.

She threw a no-hitter in her college debut this past Thursday against Lamar. She struck out nine in the 5-0 victory for UVa’s first no-hitter since Ally Frei against Hampton on April 30, 2019, and the first shutout by a UVa freshman since Mikayla Houge against Syracuse on April 21, 2021.

Bigham also recorded a pair of two-inning saves against Sam Houston State and Lamar over the weekend. She allowed two hits, posted a 0.056 batting average against and struck out 16 batters over 11 scoreless innings.

Bigham threw 17 no-hitters during her time at Rustburg.

Amherst to honor Procopio

Longtime Amherst baseball coach Jim Procopio will be honored in a ceremony scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 23, at Amherst County High. 

Procopio was head baseball coach at the school from 1968 through 1985 and won three state titles during his tenure: 1974, 1978 and 1979, along with numerous district titles. 

The ceremony, which will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the school's auxiliary gym, will feature an abundance of baseball folks — coaches, scouts, owners and players who have been associated with the Baltimore Orioles, Chicago Cubs, Atlanta Braves, minor league and collegiate programs and the Olympics, according to a press release issued by Amherst's current head coach, John Apperson. 

The ceremony will be dubbed "Jim Procopio Recognition Night" and the community is invited to attend. 

"Over the years, he was an extremely positive influence on his student-athletes, who went on to play and coach in the scholastic, collegiate, professional and international ranks," Apperson wrote in the release.