Cavaliers Now

Virginia Softball Advances to First-Ever Regional Final With 2nd Win Over Miami

Kathleen Boyce

Jade Hylton, Leah Boggs, and Eden Bigham - Virginia Softball
Jade Hylton, Leah Boggs, and Eden Bigham - Virginia Softball / Virginia Athletics

After throwing a two-hit shutout in her NCAA Tournament debut on Friday, Eden Bigham was even better in her second start against the RedHawks, carrying a no hitter into the sixth inning and only allowing one hit all game.

Virginia started Saturday afternoon in the winner’s bracket and faced Tennessee. A run rule loss dropped the Hoos into the loser’s bracket, but Joanna Hardin’s team responded by beating Miami of Ohio for the second time to advance to Sunday's Regional Final. 

Game 1 - Tennessee 12, Virginia 0 (5 innings)

After a shutout win behind Eden Bigham over Miami of Ohio, the Hoos had to face No. 3 Tennessee, who showed why they could are a favorite to reach the World Series in a 12-0 run rule of the Cavaliers.

Lady Vols pitcher Payton Gottshall struck out three Cavaliers in the top of the first. She was the fifth overall pick in the Athletes Unlimited draft, and a key contributor to her team’s success.

Mikayla Houge got off to a rough start in the circle, giving up two solo home runs on four pitches. Next, Tennessee got two singles, looking to add on even more. Houge induced two pop ups to settle down, but then walked a batter to load the bases. She was able to prevent further damage by getting a strikeout looking with the bases loaded, keeping the score close.

The Hoos couldn’t get any baserunners in the top of the second, and then Mikayla Houge ran into trouble again. She gave up two singles and a walk to give up another run and departed the game with runners on the corners and one out. In relief, Courtney Layne got another out with a sac fly to make it 4-0. Then, Tennessee hit a three run homer to blow the game open and take a 7-0 lead through two innings. 

Payton Gotshall’s ability to get to an 0-2 count was impressive to watch, as she did so against seven of the first ten batters she faced (and two of the others were 1-2 counts). Getting ahead of hitters put her in the driver’s seat and helped her get five strikeouts and weak contact for some other outs. 

On the other hand, Virginia pitchers weren’t able to get ahead of batters as efficiently. Courtney Layne struggled to find the strike zone as Teneesee wouldn’t swing at her outside pitches and the umpire didn’t call them. She walked four of the first ten batters she faced. Two of those walks scored in a four run third inning where Tennessee added an RBI double and a three run homer to lead 11-0. 

Mikayla Houge re-entered the game in the fourth inning and gave up one run, the smallest inning the Lady Vols put together. In the top of the fifth, Sarah Coon got Virginia's third hit of the game, but the Hoos couldn’t put anything together and fell 12-0 in run rule fashion.

Game 2 - Virginia 6, Miami (OH) 0

After more than a three hour rain delay in the previous game, the Hoos ended up with a rematch against the Miami of Ohio RedHawks with a 9:45 pm first pitch on Saturday night.

The first inning went by quickly with neither team getting a baserunner. Eden Bigham got the start again for Virginia, hoping to stave off elimination and make it to the regional final.

In the top of the second, Macee Eaton walked and Shelby Barbee singled to get two runners on. Sarah Coon executed a sac bunt to move both runners into scoring position, but the Cavaliers were unable to capitalize, as RedHawks pitcher Addy Jarvis got a pop out and a strikeout to end the threat.

Jade Hylton came through in the top of the third with a solo home run to put Virginia on the board. Hylton has been the go-to player all year for the Hoos, and she was recognized as part of NFCA All-Region first team for her efforts. 

Eden Bigham, UVA’s other NFCA All Region First Team member, continued where she left off on Friday. Bigham had five strikeouts in the first three innings, retired the lineup in order the first time around, and only used 31 pitches.

Virginia got runners on the corners with two outs, but Kelsey Hackett’s line drive went directly to the third baseman to end the inning. On defense, Bigham had another three up and three down inning in the bottom of the fourth.

UVA’s top of the fifth inning was fantastic. After Jade Hylton reached on an error and Bella Cabral singled, Abby Weaver poked a single up the middle to score Hylton and make the score 2-0. Later, Shelby Barbee came up clutch with a two-out three-run blast. Barbee got on a hot streak at the end of the season, and her sixth home run of the season was her most important hit yet.

An error in the bottom of the fifth inning gave Miami its first base runner of the game and broke up what was a perfect game for Eden Bigham to that point, but Bigham worked around it to keep the RedHawks scoreless. Through five innings, Virginia led 5-0.

Lauren VanAssche hit a sharp line drive to leadoff the sixth inning. It got past the diving center fielder and gave her a leadoff triple. Kassidy Hudson quickly followed that up with an RBI single to make it 6-0. 

The RedHawks mustered only one hit all game against Bigham, and it didn’t come until there were two outs in the sixth inning. Bigham finished the inning with a popup, and then completed her second shutout in two days in the following inning.

Entering the NCAA tournament, the RedHawks had never been shut out. Eden Bigham shut them out twice in two days and surrendered only three total hits in the process. Behind her phenomenal efforts, the Virginia Cavaliers are advancing to the regional final for the first time in program history.

The Hoos will have a tough path ahead, needing to beat Tennessee twice on Sunday in order to advance to the Super Regionals. We haven’t seen Madi Harris in the circle at all yet, and it’s possible we will see Eden Bigham again given her successes. First pitch was moved from 12 pm to 4 pm EST because of the late night. 

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Kathleen Boyce
KATHLEEN BOYCE

Kathleen Boyce is a contributing author for Cavaliers Now, covering primarily UVA volleyball, women's basketball, and softball. Kathleen is currently a fourth-year student at the University of Virginia.