The result of Virginia softball’s first five regular-season games is a 4-1 record and a victory over a top 10 opponent. However, the first day of Kickin’ Chicken Classic began as anything but ideal.
The mercy rule isn’t exactly rare — 12 Virginia games, wins and losses alike, ended early last season. The 17-1 trouncing at the hands of No. 9 Arkansas to open 2026 was different — not only did it take less than seven innings for the scoreboard to read ‘FINAL,’ but it was also the program’s worst loss since 2017. The Razorbacks took control immediately, capitalizing on three walks, a hit-by-pitch and an error to score 10 runs in the first inning. Both teams hit the same amount of home runs — one — and the first of senior outfielder Kassidy Hudson’s career was Virginia’s lone bright spot in the rough showing.
The remaining innings were not unlike the first. Virginia made mistakes on defense, while Arkansas batters made good contact to send runners, many of whom reached base on walks, across home plate. The Cavaliers struggled in the circle, particularly in two-out situations — junior Julia Cuozzo and sophomore Ava Hodges combined to allow nine RBIs with two outs, reflecting the challenges the two pitchers faced towards the end of innings.
Virginia had but an hour or two to re-orient towards a match with Coastal Carolina, the hosts of the Classic. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, hosts don’t tend to do well when facing junior infielder Macee Eaton — last season, the difference between her home and road slugging percentage was just .073, good enough to lead the team in their time outside of Charlottesville. She also tied senior infielder Jade Hylton for the most home runs away from Palmer Park.
In sharp contrast to their opening loss, three different Cavaliers sent the ball over the wall in their second contest. Their 5-1 win over Coastal Carolina was characterized by strong showings from the dependables — Eaton and Hylton contributed one home run apiece. The junior struck early with a solo homer in the first, while the senior, after going hitless previously, hit one to dead center field in the seventh to extend the lead.
In the circle and at the plate, the usual suspects starred. After Cuozzo and Hodges walked six batters against Arkansas, senior ace Eden Bigham threw 5.2 innings with six strikeouts, allowing only four hits, one earned run and one walk. Fellow senior Courtney Layne recorded the last few outs, surrendering zero hits, walking one and striking out two.
Following the significant departures from last season, Coach Joanna Hardin will rely on many of the less-experienced members of the roster to emerge as regular contributors — evidence suggests she is more than comfortable doing so. Sophomore infielder Alex Call took a pitch deep against Coastal Carolina in the third inning for her first career home run. Freshman outfielder Jaiden Griffith started in center field and batted second in the order across the first four contests, replacing the graduated Kelly Ayer. Hardin has also deployed a platoon at catcher following the departure of Sydney Hartgrove, starting three different players at the position — freshman Hannah Weismer, redshirt freshman Reagan Hickey and junior Melissa Carr all received starts.
For the rematch against Arkansas — a 4-2 Virginia victory — Griffith proved pivotal, reaching base on a fielder’s choice to bring Hylton home for the first score of the game. Griffith herself was brought home with the result of the next at-bat — yet another home run from Eaton. Virginia reached four runs only one inning later, with an Eaton single to bring Hylton home. Eaton dominated the Classic, hitting two home runs, two doubles and accumulating seven RBIs, despite only appearing in four of the five games.
Following the first two innings, the Cavaliers cruised to a win. The Razorbacks put up 17 runs the first go around — they only managed two in the second, largely thanks to the efforts of Layne. The senior pitched all seven innings, throwing seven strikeouts and walking zero batters. Virginia also avoided costly mistakes in the field, only committing one error after committing three in the first meeting.
Virginia’s fourth game of the Classic, a 4-3 win over Akron, was a similarly low-scoring affair. Freshman pitcher Taylor Smith, a 2025 Gatorade Player of the Year, appeared in her first career start and tossed two hitless innings with three strikeouts. Bigham entered for the final five, striking out seven while allowing three runs. Two of Virginia’s four runs came from Hylton — an RBI single and a sacrifice fly — but the other two came from a player making her first appearance of the season.
Sophomore Madison Greene slotted in as the designated player against Akron. Despite registering only 12 at-bats last season, she had two multi-RBI performances — similarly to last year, she has continued to make the most of limited playing time. Greene contributed a pair of RBI singles, even driving in the eventual game-winning run in the sixth inning.
The final game, a 10-2 victory in another matchup with Coastal Carolina, finished up in five innings, completing a mercy-rule Kickin’ Chicken sandwich for Virginia. The Cavaliers took control early with a five-run first inning. Unsurprisingly, five of those 10 runs came from a pair of Eaton RBI singles and a Hylton double. Another came thanks to a solo home run from Call, the second of the series and her career.
In the circle, Smith started once again but ran into trouble early, allowing two runs in the first. Enter Layne, in her third outing of a nearly immaculate weekend. She pitched 4.1 innings in her final appearance, tossing seven strikeouts while allowing zero hits and only two walks. Across three games at the Classic, Layne pitched 12.2 innings and struck out 16 batters, all while walking three and allowing only one earned run.
Five games into the season, much remains unknown about the 2026 Cavaliers — Hardin’s lineups shifted every game, with a rotating door at catcher. Regardless, reliable stars and inexperienced talent played their parts in running the table in Conway after a devastating loss to open the season.
Virginia will take their 4-1 start, the best for the program since 2023, back home to Charlottesville, where they will face Delaware State in a one-off Feb. 13 before travelling to Farmville, Va. for the Longwood Lancer Tournament.
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