Virginia Softball Looks to Continue Historic Season in ACC Softball Tournament

Kathleen Boyce | May 8, 2024

Jade Hylton throws to first base after fielding a grounder at shortstop during the Virginia softball game at Georgia Tech. / Virginia Athletics

The 2023-2024 regular season campaign for the Virginia Cavaliers softball team wound up being far more impressive than outsiders initially predicted. The Hoos were slated to finish ninth out of 13 ACC teams, but instead finished fourth with a 32-17 record and a 15-9 record in the ACC, good for the team’s highest finish since 2010.

While the conference and non-conference schedules still had some blips, the Hoos won seven out of eight ACC series, including huge victories against Clemson and Duke, who were ranked eleventh and third at the time.

Clemson will get a rematch with Virginia on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2024 ACC Softball Tournament in Durham after the Cavaliers beat the Tigers twice in Charlottesville. In the March series that really ignited a run in the ACC, a bases loaded double from Bella Cabral helped Virginia storm back from a 4-0 deficit to take a 6-4 lead, and the Cavalier pitching staff did the rest. The defense was also impressive in a game three shutout, and Jade Hylton hit a late game home run to secure the 3-0 victory.

Madi Harris had a breakout series in the circle against Clemson, pitching 9.1 innings, earning two wins, and not giving up a single run. With that kind of performance, it's possible that Virginia opts to give Harris the ball in the ACC quarterfinals, and we can see if she can once again stymie the Clemson offense.

In addition to Madi Harris in the circle, we will likely see UVA’s ace, Eden Bigham, who was honored as ACC pitcher of the week three times this season and she has pitched double the number of innings as the next pitcher (129.1 to 65.2 from Madi Harris). On Wednesday, Hylton was named to the All-ACC First Team.

Virginia’s offense struggled to produce runs early in the season, but it has improved significantly since then. Jade Hylton leads the way for Virginia in nearly every offensive category, including average (.342), runs (33), hits (53), doubles (12), home runs (12), on base percentage (.428), slugging percentage (.677), OPS (1.105), RBI (37), walks (24), and stolen bases (14). Hylton joined Bigham as Virginia's two All-ACC First-Team selections.

Shelby Barbee has a hot bat after earning Co-ACC Player of the Week Honors for her Georgia Tech series where she went 6 for 9 with 7 RBI and three home runs. UVA is hoping that the week off between games doesn’t disrupt her streak. Another player to watch is freshman Bella Cabral, who has made clutch plays both on offense and at second base throughout the season. Cabral was named to the ACC All-Freshman Team, while Barbee was an All-ACC Third-Team selection.

On Clemson’s side, reigning National Player of the Year Valerie Cagle is always a threat in the circle and at the plate. She is hitting .364 with an OPS of 1.057. Teammates McKenzie Clark and Maddie Moore also have OPS metrics of above 1.000, which is an impressive threshold to cross. 

Regan Spencer has pitched the most for Clemson this season and boasts a 2.00 ERA. While Spencer often relies on her defense to get outs behind her, Cagle and Millie Thompson are two pitchers who rely more on strikeouts. They have ERAs of 2.50 and 1.77, respectively. 

Virginia is entering postseason play with back-to-back 30 win seasons. While Joanna Hardin has steadily improved her team in eight seasons at Virginia, that has yet to translate to postseason play. The Hoos have lost in the ACC quarterfinals each of the last two years, to No. 3 Florida State in 2022 and Syracuse in 2023. The Cavaliers qualified for the National Invitational Softball Championship in 2022 and managed one win, but the UVA softball postseason history is limited.

In fact, the only time UVA has made the NCAA tournament was in 2010. After receiving one vote in the top 25 poll this week, there is a good chance Virginia will hear its name called in the 64 team field on Selection Sunday to break the 14-year drought. However, there is work to be done before that point, and having a chance to win a conference championship is a significant opportunity to seize. 

The Cavaliers will face the Clemson Tigers on Thursday at 1:30 pm (ACCN) in the ACC quarterfinals in Durham for a chance to advance to the ACC semifinals (Friday at 1pm) against the winner of Duke and Boston College/Syracuse.