For Virginia, the goal of this weekend was clear — win each of its games to make it to a Super Regional. After Friday night’s game, that goal looked more and more possible until they ran into No. 7 Tennessee. In what seemed to be a repeat of the 2024 Knoxville Regional, the Cavaliers (40-15, 13-10 ACC) season came down to their final out, the end of a historical run.
Game 1 — Virginia 8, Indiana 7
Virginia opened the NCAA Regional Tournament in a matchup against rising Big Ten powerhouse, Indiana. Out the gate, the Hoosiers (43-16, 17-7 Big Ten) were taking big swings, going up 3-0 thanks to a two-run homer and a throwing error by senior outfielder Kassidy Hudson. However, the Cavaliers didn’t give Indiana much time to get comfortable before senior infielder Jade Hylton tied the game with one swing of her bat in the bottom of the second. Tied at 3-3, things quickly became similar to a game of cat and mouse, Virginia scoring and the Hoosiers responding right away.
Home runs became the story of night, freshman outfielder Madison Greene hitting a solo shot to left field — her first of her collegiate career — and Hylton yet again going deep, this time to center field. After manufacturing two more runs in the sixth inning, the Cavaliers were able to tie the game and send it to extra innings. Freshman pitcher Taylor Smith held off the Indiana offense, giving redshirt freshman catcher Reagan Hickey the chance to be a hero and walk-off the game with a single to right field.
Game 2 — Virginia 5, Tennessee 7
Now in the winner's bracket, Virginia was rewarded with a matchup against Tennessee. The Lady Volunteers (45-10, 16-8 SEC) being known for their lethal pitching meant that the Cavaliers had to minimize damage on defense — the first inning looked the opposite of that. Senior pitcher Eden Bigham gave up five runs through a mixture of hits and walks, putting Virginia in a deep hole to get out of. Junior infielder Macee Eaton helped the Cavaliers claw their way out of that hole with a three-run homer to cut the lead to 5-3.
However, just when conditions seemed to be turning around for Virginia, Tennessee responded with a two-run home run in the bottom of the sixth inning to reestablish distance. Their pitching staff even made the decision to bring in their ace, senior pitcher Karlyn Pickens, to finish out the game at the start of the fifth inning. Pickens, the hardest throwing pitcher in the game, looked unstoppable on the mound up until sophomore infielder Alex Call hit a two-run shot over the center field wall. Despite the effort put forward by the offense, the Lady Vols did not take their foot off the gas, sending the Cavaliers to an unwanted double-header.
Game 3 — Virginia 9, Indiana 7
The Saturday night elimination game was probably the most exciting of the weekend, each team fighting tooth and nail to keep their respective seasons alive. Just like their first meeting, both teams struck early — this time, Virginia was the one to go up 3-0 in the top first inning. However, in the bottom of the inning, Indiana matched those runs, tying the game at 3-3. In the top of the third, with no outs and bases loaded, Call hit a no-doubt grand slam to put the Cavaliers up 7-3, a score that they hoped was more than enough cushion.
But the Hoosiers proved to be gritty, putting up three runs in the bottom of the inning and tagging on another to tie the game at 7-7 in the bottom of the fourth. Greene gave Virginia the final push they needed with a two-run homer to put them up 9-7, and Smith entered the game in the sixth to keep the Indiana offense at bay and pick up the save. By the night's finish, the Cavaliers were headed to the Regional Championship in a rematch against Tennessee.
Game 4 — Virginia 1, Tennessee 5
By day’s end, there could be only two outcomes — either they were going to advance to their first ever Super Regional, or they were going to be sent back home to Charlottesville.
Emotions were heightened even more when senior outfielder Kelsey Hackett got the pseudo-start for the game. Being on the field for only one pitch, Coach Joanna Hardin called time for Hackett to be subbed out. The crowd rose to their feet, giving her a proper standing ovation while Virginia and Tennessee fans alike chanted “Kelsey” over and over again.
As the fans settled back in, their attention was brought to the fact that Smith was getting the start for the Cavaliers. In her first two innings, the Virginia defense was able to hold off the feisty Lady Vols offense, but the top of the third was a different story.
After a tough at-bat, Smith walked freshman outfielder Taelyn Holley with no outs. The fatigue from the last three games seemed to catch up with Smith when her next two pitches soared over Hickey’s head, allowing Holley to advance to third easily. Although the next hit was a ground-out, a deep line-drive gave Holley the ability to tag-up and score the go-ahead run.
Virginia made it out of the inning without any further damage, the score being 1-0. In the bottom of the third, Pickens forced two quick outs before throwing a four-pitch walk to Hylton. On a first-pitch steal, Hylton put herself in scoring position for Eaton.
Eaton took a deep breath each time she stepped into the box, her way of acknowledging the significance of the moment. On a full count and the eighth pitch up of the at-bat, Eaton hit a shot to left centerfield, a double for her and an easy scoring opportunity for Hylton. Now tied at 1-1, it was anybody’s game.
The Lady Vols responded in the top of the fourth after a series of unusual events. In the middle of the inning, Call asked for a time out to switch gloves — something even the commentators were confused about. The next at-bat, a routine line-drive was hit to Call for what should have been the third out, but tipped off the edge of her glove to allow another run to score. Call then switched back to her previous glove as she tapped her chest and mouthed the words, “My bad.”
The Cavaliers had the opportunity to get that run back, Griffith starting a two-out rally in the bottom of the inning. Greene and Smith both found ways to get themselves on, loading the bases for Hylton. What looked to be the perfect set-up for the dangerous lead-off hitter ended up producing no runs when Hylton grounded to shortstop.
A freefall followed from there, Smith giving up a homerun to Holley at the start of the sixth inning. Bigham then entered the game in relief, putting runners on the bags with walks and then timely hits. By the end of the inning, Virginia trailed 5-1 and the hopes of forcing a second game began to dwindle.
The remainder of the game was filled with quick outs on both sides, the Cavalier’s season ending on a fielder’s choice to second base. As Tennessee began to celebrate, the cameras panned to the Virginia dugout where tears could be seen streaming down several players' faces — most notably Hylton and Bigham, whose realization that they had just played their final game was setting in.
Although the season did not end in the way the program envisioned, the Cavaliers still have much to be proud of and should hold their heads high — this weekend showed that in several ways. For starters, for the first time since 2002, Virginia had a 40-win season, both of its wins against Indiana helping it get to that mark. Additionally, Eaton broke the Cavaliers’ single-season RBI record with her double during the final game, the new record now being 66.
Looking ahead, there are plenty of questions to be had about where Virginia should go from here and what decisions need to be made. For now though, it is important that the Cavaliers celebrate their faithful five seniors and the progress they have made.
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