In the final year of an athlete’s collegiate career, there are plenty of emotions surrounding their season. Many feel as though there are goals still left to achieve, plenty of ambitions for their team’s regular season and hopes for a playoff appearance.
For many softball players, there is also an ache for the younger version of themselves who worked so hard to get here — the version who might’ve played catch with their dad in the backyard or whose mom braided their hair early Saturday morning for a day full of games. Their final season is a goodbye to the sport they have played nearly their entire life, the ending of an era.
However, no era can end without a proper celebration. For Virginia, Senior Day was a time of reflection, tributes and absolute domination over NC State.
“The senior class is why we are where we are. They committed here and stayed very faithful,” Coach Hardin said. “[I’m] very grateful for their belief in the vision of what U.Va. softball could be.”
Senior pitcher Eden Bigham got the start for the Cavaliers (36-12, 13-10 ACC) on her special day, her 66th start since her freshman year in 2023. Out of the gate, Bigham produced a quick inning against the Wolfpack (25-23, 6-14 ACC) to get her offense in the batter's box.
As if it was written for the big screen, senior infielder Jade Hylton stepped up to the plate for her first at-bat of the game. The first pitch was a ball but the second one was 65 MPH, right down the middle. Hylton squared up, swinging her bat on the perfect angle to launch it. The line drive carried, the ball hit so hard that the only thing able to stop it was the trees at the back of the stadium.
Hylton pumped her fists into the air, sprinting around the bases as the dugout made a path with their orange and blue pom-poms for her to run through. The homerun was a moment Hylton will surely remember forever.
“It’s just awesome — that doesn't always happen,” Hardin said. “It’s a great testament to what you do if you just keep going.”
But the inning was nowhere close to being done yet — even though it was Senior Day, the juniors had to show off, too. Following Hylton’s monster of a hit was junior infielder Macee Eaton who hit a line-drive single to center field. Then came junior infielder Bella Cabral who had already had her big-time hit in Saturday’s game, but one moment clearly wasn’t enough, Cabral sending one flying over the fence.
Just three batters in, it was already 3-0 Virginia and the NC State coaching staff was bringing in another pitcher. However, this pitcher also only lasted three batters, her walking both redshirt freshman catcher Reagan Hickey and senior outfielder Kelsey Hackett before giving up an off the wall double to sophomore infielder Alex Call. By the end of the first inning, the Cavaliers were up 5-0 and it was nothing but smiles from the fans.
The explosiveness died down in the second inning, returning in third, this time for the Wolfpack. After walking a batter, freshman infielder Lily Livingston got a hold of one of Bigham’s pitches, sending it over the wall to shrink the lead to 5-2. Hackett picked Bigham up with the next batter, catching a deep pop-fly to finish the inning.
Despite threatening, Virginia could not get anyone around the basepath in the bottom of the third. This cued a remix of “American Nights” by Zach Bryan to play as senior pitcher Courtney Layne entered from the bullpen to relieve Bigham in the top of the fourth.
Layne was able to keep the NC State offense at bay for a couple of innings with the help of some stellar defense from Call. In the shift, Call was able to pick up the first out, scooping up a dribbling grounder and hurling it over to first base. For the next out, she executed a play nothing short of miraculous, diving to snatch a line-drive up the middle that should have been a hit. Call banged the dirt in excitement, amped about her ESPN worthy play.
“It’s always great to be able to make plays behind my pitchers, especially when they’re doing as great as they are,” Call said. “It was so great to finally get my chance to lay out and catch something.”
The Cavaliers were able to get another run across in the bottom of the fifth — a run that looked less cushiony and more necessary after the Wolfpack got going in the top of the sixth. Having not scored since the third, the NC State offense heated up and was able to score two on nicely timed hits, making it 6-4. However, Virginia responded in the bottom of the inning with a big double from Eaton, the insurance run bringing the score to 7-4.
Now only three outs away from the Senior Day win, Layne took a deep breath and stepped onto the mound ready to deliver. She took the first out herself, the ball being hit right back to her and freshman outfielder Madison Greene handled the next, catching a pop-fly in shallow right field.
The final out came at first base from Eaton, the crowd erupting in cheers and the seniors hugging each other in the center of the pitcher’s circle — the perfect storybook ending to a Senior Day.
“All their journeys have been really different,” Coach Hardin said in regard to the five seniors. “It is just really powerful to see them go out and sweep this weekend.”
It had been 28 days since Virginia had swept a conference opponent, and its win against NC State changed that — a series sweep that was definitely needed heading into the postseason.
The Cavaliers have one final game of their regular season on Tuesday at 5 p.m. against Liberty before returning to Palmer Park to host the ACC tournament for the first time in history.
“We are just thrilled that we get to be here and continue playing in our house,” Hardin said. “There’s not enough words to say how excited we are.”
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