The first few months of this Virginia softball season were among the best in program history, placing the Cavaliers (33-11, 10-10 ACC) on track for their best record ever. Their dominance was not against exclusively lowly competition either, as Coach Joanna Hardin’s squad proved their mettle again and again with signature victories over high-caliber opponents.
These past few weeks have knocked the Cavaliers off the horse.
Their 6-1 defeat at the hands of Clemson Sunday delivered their 10th conference loss of the season — unless they sweep N.C. State and subsequently win the ACC Championships, Virginia will finish with more conference losses than last season.
Virginia’s seventh loss of its last 10 games marks its third consecutive conference series loss and its second sweep of the season. Similar to the first game of the series, the Tigers (30-17, 12-9 ACC) got off to a quick start, scoring four runs in the first two innings — including a home run over the left field wall.
After allowing zero home runs since early March, senior pitcher Eden Bigham has now allowed a moonshot in two consecutive appearances.
Virginia’s offense struggled as well — a third-inning home run from senior infielder Jade Hylton provided the Cavaliers with one of their two total hits and their only score, closing the deficit to three runs.
Freshman Taylor Smith relieved Bigham in the circle for the bottom of the third and struggled similarly to her upperclassman counterpart, allowing a homer in her first inning and an RBI single in the fourth for two more Tiger runs. Senior Courtney Layne would close out the game admirably, tossing zero strikeouts but allowing zero hits and zero runs over the last two innings.
Hardin acknowledged the loss but emphasized that the Cavaliers' drag in production is something that can be addressed.
“We are all disappointed on how the weekend played out,” Hardin said. “Our execution in multiple phases was inconsistent, however, it’s not for lack of effort or intent by the team and the staff. We know very clearly adjustments need to be made and have complete faith in our circle that we will all work together, in alignment, to simply get better. We have the right people and athletes in our program to move forward and continue climbing our mountain.”
Virginia will move forward quickly, facing James Madison to begin their final homestand of the regular season. The Cavaliers hold a 29-25 all-time record over the Dukes (21-22, 8-10 SBC) and have won five consecutive matchups between the schools. Then, just a few days later, they will host NC State.
The Cavaliers’ final conference opponent is coming off a sweep at the hands of No. 19 Stanford, but they also delivered a sweep against California two weeks ago. Both the Dukes and the Wolfpack (25-20, 6-11 ACC) should present less of a challenge than the Tigers — Virginia’s upcoming opponents are ranked 99th and 61st in RPI, respectively, while their previous opponent sits at 25th, two spots above the Cavaliers.
A series victory over NC State would stop the skid and end what has become a mixed bag of conference play on a higher note for Virginia. The first pitch against James Madison is slated for 5 p.m. Tuesday, and the series against the Wolfpack is set to begin at 6 p.m. Friday.
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