The ACC Championship Bracket was released Sunday, and Virginia softball has earned the 4-seed in the tournament — the program’s highest seed since being seeded No. 2 in 2010. The Cavaliers (32-17, 15-9 ACC) will take on No. 5 Clemson in the first round in Durham, N.C, earning the seeding nod over the Tigers (33-16, 15-9 ACC) thanks to a series victory over Clemson in March.
Both teams will almost certainly send out their aces to kick off the quarterfinals. Virginia will look to sophomore pitcher Eden Bigham and senior pitcher Madison Harris to lock down the Tigers, ideally saving one of the two for a potential matchup against No. 1 Duke in the semifinals Friday — assuming the Blue Devils take care of business in the quarterfinals.
Bigham is the most likely starting pitcher considering how Coach Joanna Hardin typically chooses to order the pitching staff over a series. Bigham did throw nine shutout innings in a 1-0 loss against Duke in 12 innings at the end of April, meaning Hardin could err on the side of saving Bigham for a potential rematch. Additionally, Harris threw 9.1 shutout innings over two appearances against Clemson, a good indicator that she could be the right starter for a high-stakes, single-elimination matchup against the Tigers.
Clemson could go in a few directions. Senior pitchers Regan Spencer, Millie Thompson and Valerie Cagle all place top 10 by ERA in the ACC. Of the three, Spencer had the most success against the Cavaliers, throwing seven innings of one-run ball in the Tigers’ only win against Virginia. While Spencer is the likely starter, any of the three pitchers could get the nod for Thursday’s game.
Duke earned the No. 1 seed and will play the winner of a first-round matchup between No. 8 Syracuse and No. 9 Boston College — the winner of the subsequent matchup will play Virginia or Clemson. If the Cavaliers can defeat the Tigers, they will almost certainly face Duke in the semifinals, setting up a rematch of their late-season series.
Virginia won the final two games of the series, but the Blue Devils held the Cavaliers scoreless through 12 innings in the series opener. The single-elimination nature of the ACC Championship heavily favors strong pitching, and Duke boasts the best pitching in the conference, sporting a 1.57 ERA that leads the ACC by a wide margin. Should Virginia face the Blue Devils, they will likely have to face senior pitcher Jala Wright, who locked them down in the series opener. If Wright has to work extensively in the quarterfinals, the Cavaliers would likely see senior pitcher Lillie Walker or sophomore pitcher Cassidy Curd, both of whom rank within the top four ACC pitchers by ERA. Virginia had more success against Walker and Curd than against Wright, but it would be a tough matchup regardless.
Offensively, the Cavaliers picked up the pace in their series win against Georgia Tech to close the regular season — Virginia scored four or more runs in all three games, including 16 runs in the second game alone. This marks the only ACC series this season where the Cavaliers scored four or more runs in every game, a major sign of life for an offense that has struggled to consistently do damage.
Sophomore infielder Jade Hylton will lead the charge for Virginia at the plate — she is the only Cavalier with a top-30 batting average in the ACC. Hylton leads the Cavaliers in every major offensive category, from home runs to batting average to slugging percentage. Virginia will also look for equal production from other members of the lineup, especially sluggers like freshman infielder Bella Cabral, whose 30 RBIs puts her just behind Hylton in that category. With a constant cadre of aces on the docket in postseason play, the Cavaliers’ offense cannot be a one-player show.
Should Virginia’s offense come alive and push them past both Clemson and Duke, the team would likely face No. 2 Florida State or No. 3 Virginia Tech in the championship. The Seminoles (41-13, 19-5 ACC) nearly won the ACC Championship last year and did not face the Cavaliers this season. The Hokies (39-11-1, 18-6 ACC) defeated Virginia twice in two matchups, scoring 12 runs and allowing just one run in total. Despite having worse records than No. 1 Duke, both teams present challenges that the Cavaliers have either not encountered or struggled with. The Blue Devils are undoubtedly a dangerous playoff team, but Virginia has faced them previously and found success, which bodes well for a rematch in the playoffs should both teams’ opening games go smoothly
It has been a landmark season for the Cavaliers thus far. 15 ACC wins set a new program record for conference victories in a season, and Virginia recorded series victories against Duke and Clemson, two ranked ACC opponents. Looking ahead, the Cavaliers could cap off a successful regular season with a strong postseason run, starting with a matchup against the Tigers and a likely rematch against the Blue Devils. Two victories would earn Virginia a berth in the championship and a shot at their first ACC title since 1994, an encouraging possibility for a team that has historically struggled.
The tournament began Wednesday in Durham, with the Cavaliers taking on Clemson at 1:30 p.m. Thursday. Coverage for all games will be available on ACC Network, with the championship game shown Saturday on ESPN2 at 2:30 p.m. The full bracket with all matchups and times is available on the ACC website.
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