Virginia Softball Goes 3-2 in Opening Weekend Tournament

UVA defeated UNCG twice and Jacksonville State once, but fell to host South Carolina twice this weekend in Columbia at the Carolina Classic

Virginia softball opened the 2024 season by participating in the Carolina Classic this weekend in Columbia, South Carolina. The Cavaliers played five games in the tournament and posted a 3-2 overall record with wins over UNC-Greensboro and Jacksonville State and losses to No. 23 South Carolina.

Friday 2/9 (Game 1) - Virginia 6, UNC-Greensboro 5

In the first game of the 2024 season, Virginia took an early lead over UNCG and withstood a late-game rally to secure the win. Shelby Barbee hit a two-run blast in the second inning to score Virginia’s first runs of the season. Kelly Ayer doubled to lead off the third inning, advanced to third on a groundout, and scored on a sac fly by Abby Weaver to make it 3-0.

UVA’s biggest inning was the bottom of the fourth. A hit by pitch and walk got runners on, and Macee Eaton hit an RBI single. Another walk loaded the bases, and then efficient outs with a sac fly and RBI groundout brought in runs two and three of the inning.

On defense, Eden Bigham held UNCG scoreless through four innings, striking out the side in the first and third and amassing 11 strikeouts. She gave up a three run homer in the fifth as the first blemish to her day, cutting UVA’s lead in half. She went into the sixth inning and gave up a walk and a triple, so freshman Julia Cuozzo came in to relieve her. Cuozzo stranded two runners on base and preserved the one run lead, and then retired the three batters in order in the seventh inning to secure the save.

Friday 2/9 (Game 2)- Virginia 7, Jacksonville State 3

Virginia jumped out to an early lead once again when Jade Hylton walked, stole second, and scored on a single by Abby Weaver. A similar sequence occurred when Macee Eaton singled, stole second, and scored on Kailyn Jones’s RBI single.

Jacksonville State scored one run in the third and took the lead in the top of the fifth inning on a two run single. In response, Virginia exploded for five runs, courtesy of a two-run single from Abby Weaver, an RBI single from Bella Cabral, and a two-run homer from Sarah Coon.

Savanah Henley pitched six innings and gave up two earned runs in her season debut, and Julia Cuozzo pitched the final inning as Virginia secured the 7-3 win.

Saturday 2/10 (Game 3)- Virginia 7, UNC-Greensboro 2

Courtney Layne picked up the win in first start of the season, pitching 4.1 innings and giving up only one run, and Julia Cuozzo and Mikayla Houge each checked in with strikeouts in their appearances.

The Cavalier offense was clicking in game three, getting eight hits and scoring seven runs. Jade Hylton and Bella Cabral had RBI singles in the third inning, and errors by the UNCG defense helped Virginia score another run in the fourth. In the fifth inning, Macee Eaton doubled to bring in a run, and then the Hoos tacked on two more runs on a Bella Cabral solo homer and a Kelsey Hackett RBI triple. 

Saturday 2/10 (Game 4)- South Carolina 6, Virginia 1

After three wins to start the season, Virginia couldn’t keep the momentum going against the No. 23 ranked team. Sarah Coon went 2-3 in the game and hit a solo homer, mustering two of Virginia’s three hits and the only run. 

Madison Harris pitched two scoreless innings to start off the game and Julia Cuozzo started off strong in her appearance, but then gave up four runs in the bottom of the fifth on four hits. Mikayla Houge pitched the final 1.1 innings and gave up two runs.

Sunday 2/11 (Game 5)- South Carolina 7, Virginia 1

The South Carolina pitchers stymied the Virginia offense once again, with UVA having seven hits through two games and only two total runs. Abby Weaver had the lone RBI for UVA with a double in the top of the seventh inning to prevent the shutout. 

Eden Bigham took the loss on the day, giving up four runs in 2.2 innings pitched. Savanah Henley pitched 3.1 innings in relief and gave up the other three runs.

Virginia’s performance against the first two teams was solid, but facing up against a better team was expectedly more challenging. Overall, there are lots of good signs from the weekend, as well as issues for Joanna Hardin’s team to work on before traveling to the Easton Bama Bash for five more games next weekend. 

Subscribe to the Cavaliers Now Newsletter to receive UVA sports news in your inbox first thing on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

See more Virginia sports news and content: Virginia Cavaliers on Sports Illustrated

To stay up to date on all Virginia Cavaliers sports news, follow CavaliersNow on social media:

Facebook: @CavaliersNow
Twitter: @CavaliersNowFN