Cavaliers Now

Eden Bigham Throws Perfect Game, UVA Softball Turns in Another 5-0 Weekend

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletic

Virginia softball kept the train rolling with another 5-0 weekend in a home tournament at Palmer Park and made some history along the way, as Eden Bigham tossed the program's first perfect game in 30 years to headline one of four run-rule victories the Cavaliers picked up this weekend to extend their winning streak to 11 games and improve to 15-5 on the season.

Friday, February 28th: Cornell 0, Virginia 8 (Six innings)

Virginia opened the weekend with the first of two shutout wins, holding the visiting Big Red to just three hits. The Cavaliers plated three runs in the first on singles by Macee Easton and M.C. Eaton, though a couple of those runs were unearned. M.C. Eaton delivered a solo home run in the third, but the rest of UVA's runs were of the small-ball variety, as the Cavaliers scored two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings to trigger the run-rule. Three different UVA pitchers each pitched two innings, with Ava Hodges collecting the win.

Friday, February 28th: Seton Hall 6, Virginia 11

The visiting Pirates were the only participant in the Party At Palmer Invitational who did any damage offensively against the Cavaliers. Seton Hall scored one run in the second, one in the fourth, and four in the sixth, but Virginia had already scored eight runs by the time that happened. Macee Eaton hit a three-run bomb to straightaway center in the bottom of the first and Bella Cabral scored Kelly Ayer with a double in the third to make it 4-1. UVA scored four runs in the fifth on a sac fly by Cabral, an RBI single by Macee Eaton, and a two-run home run by Kelsey Hackett. Seton Hall scored four runs in the top of the sixth to make things a little interesting, cutting the UVA lead to 8-6, but the Hoos immediately responded with three runs in the bottom of the sixth on an RBI single by Kassidy Hudson and then Jade Hytlon joined the home run party with a two-run homer to push the Virginia lead to 11-6. Eden Bigham earned her third win of the season, but gave up four runs across 3.1 innings, and Savanah Henley pitched the final 1.2 innings.

Saturday, March 1st: Seton Hall 5, Virginia 18 (Five innings)

In round 2 with the Pirates, Seton Hall struck first with a three-run first inning and UVA responded with a solo shot from Hylton in the bottom of the first. After a scoreless second frame, the avalanche arrived with the Cavaliers plating a staggering 13 runs and nearly batting around twice in the inning, sending 16 batters to the plate. Macee Eaton decided that wasn't enough, coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting a grand slam to make it 18-3. Seton Hall got two back on a two-run homer in the fifth, but that was all the Pirates could muster as UVA ended the game after just five innings.

Saturday, March 1st: Hofstra 0, Virginia 17 (Five innings)

Virginia stayed hot offensively in the second game of the day on Saturday, scoring two runs in the first and second innings, nine in the third, and four in the fourth. But it wasn't necessary, as Eden Bigham was essentially untouchable from the circle. Bigham struck out nine of the 15 batters she faced and did not allow a single baserunner in five innings, notching the first perfect game for a UVA softball pitcher since Michelle Collins did so against Coastal Carolina on April 8th, 1994, nearly 31 years ago.

“It’s really special to be part of a perfect game. It doesn’t happen very often," said UVA head coach Joanna Hardin "I was really proud of Eden for staying focused. She was totally in the zone and you don’t get to see that very often. It was great to put up the run support and it was a big game for her. We’re proud to play defense behind her.”

Sunday, March 2nd: Hofstra 1, Virginia 12 (Five innings)

Virginia closed out the weekend with another abbreviated game, taking down Hofstra 12-1 in five innings. The Cavaliers scored all of their runs in the second and third innings, scoring six runs in each of those frames. Kailyn Jones hit her second-career home run, a two-run homer to right field, and then Macee Eaton hit her third home run of the weekend to punctuate Virginia's scoring onslaught. For the weekend, Virginia scored 66 runs in five games, averaging 13.2 runs per game, and saved an entire game's worth of innings due to run-rule victories.

Now 15-5 overall, Virginia concludes this 11-game homestand on Tuesday at 4pm ET against Longwood (ACC Network Extra).

More Virginia Sports News

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Virginia Softball Blasts Nine Homers, Goes 5-0 in Home Tournament

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UVA Swim Shatters Another Record, Extends Lead at ACC Championship

Virginia Softball Upsets No. 4 UCLA on MC Eaton's Walk-Off Home Run

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Matt Newton
MATT NEWTON

Matt launched Virginia Cavaliers On SI in August of 2021 and has since served as the site's publisher and managing editor, covering all 23 NCAA Division I sports teams at the University of Virginia. He is from Downingtown, Pennsylvania and graduated from UVA in May of 2021.