Virginia had trouble in April, when it dropped three conference series in a row, and was swept twice. Fortunately for the Cavaliers (37-12, 13-10 ACC), a weekend home series against N.C. State and a subsequent road matchup against Liberty yielded four consecutive victories, displaying a spark of the momentum which they held during their 21-game win streak early in the season.
The last time the Cavaliers won four games consecutively, they were coming off a series sweep of Pitt — their first-round opponent in the ACC Championships. The first pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at Palmer Park Wednesday — it will be the fourth home matchup against the 11th-seeded Panthers (25-26, 8-16 ACC) for the sixth-seeded Virginia this season.
Just as Virginia fell out of a bye due to a late-season stumble, its opponent is a double-digit seed for a reason. The Panthers have been swept three times this season and enter the postseason after two consecutive run-rule defeats to California. Virginia outscored Pitt 22-2 across a three-game set in late March.
One factor behind the Cavaliers’ ease of victory in the first meeting between these programs was steady pitching and competent infield play which limited the Panthers on the basepaths. Whether Virginia contains Pitt’s baserunners once again will be key. Pitt features three different players in the top 10 for stolen bases in the ACC — senior outfielder Alena Ball, junior outfielder Ahmari Braden and graduate infielder Tieley Vaughn — and is second overall as a team in the category.
Should Virginia defeat Pitt for its fifth-consecutive victory, the next matchup comes against No. 17 Virginia Tech, on a bye as the third seed, at 7:30 p.m. Thursday. This second-round matchup would be the first of two potential opportunities to conquer what plagued the Cavaliers last month.
If Virginia gets past the Hokies (44-9, 18-6 ACC), the next matchup could be against either one of the teams that swept Virginia earlier this year — No. 11 Duke or No. 22 Clemson. The Cavaliers could also face North Carolina, who they narrowly defeated to open conference play.
Before Virginia can worry about any of those programs from the Carolinas, it must beat Virginia Tech — the team they have failed to win a season series against every year since 2011. A 1-2 series loss in the middle of Virginia’s dreary April showers marked its 15th consecutive series defeat at the hands of the Hokies.
Despite prevailing in the opening matchup, the Cavaliers dropped the final two games of the weekend, struggling with defensive miscues and inactive bats. Pitching, however, provided a silver lining — Virginia managed to hold a high-powered Hokie offense to one of their lowest-scoring weekends of the season. Coach Joanna Hardin, in the postgame following the final loss, made sure to acknowledge that.
“They're averaging eight runs a game,” Hardin said. “I think they had eight or nine earned runs on the weekend, so 13 total runs on the weekend. I think this is the first series they have not run-ruled in a game, and so I think our pitching staff was phenomenal.”
To advance past the second round, Virginia will once again need measured performances in the circle from seniors Eden Bigham, Courtney Layne and the rest of a very deep bullpen. Bigham enters the tournament fresh off a dominant outing against the Flames (26-27, 18-9 SBC) April 28, tossing six strikeouts with zero walks across five innings while only allowing one hit.
This time, the position players will need to field and hit more like they did in the first game of the regular-season series with Virginia Tech than the subsequent two. Fortunately for the Cavaliers, Hardin has two infielders who are playing their best softball of the season at the right time in senior Jade Hylton and sophomore Alex Call.
Hylton and Call have put on a stellar show in the infield as of late, with the senior providing unmatched consistency at shortstop — only three errors in her last 20 games — and the sophomore making highlight-worthy throws in her turns at second and third. The pair has been equally dangerous at the plate. Hylton has smashed four home runs across her last seven starts, while Call has six RBIs, including a grand slam and a double, in just the last three games.
The Hokies are one of the hottest teams in the ACC right now, with six consecutive victories and a sweep of the Tar Heels (31-18, 9-15 ACC). If Virginia can overcome its in-state rival, it may be granted a chance at revenge against one of the two squads that dominated them, assuming North Carolina fails to make it past both the Blue Devils (38-13, 20-4 ACC) and the Tigers (32-19, 13-11 ACC). A win over any of these programs, in a third round matchup scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Friday, would grant an ACC Championship game berth.
Virginia’s only ACC Championship in its history came in 1994, under Coach Peggy Kellers. To claim the title, the Cavaliers would likely need to defeat one of No. 10 Florida State, No. 18 Stanford or No. 24 Louisville. They have not faced any of those teams this season.
The championship match is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. Saturday.
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