Cavaliers Now

Virginia Softball Upends No. 23 Kentucky 4-1 in Clearwater

Matt Newton

Virginia Athletic

A key aspect of the historic 2024 Virginia softball campaign was the Cavaliers' six victories over ranked opponents over the course of the season, including two ranked series wins in ACC play. Well, UVA softball has already earned its first ranked win of the 2025 season, taking down No. 23 Kentucky 4-1 to open the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational on Thursday afternoon at Eddie C. Moore Complex in Clearwater, Florida.

Though the Cavalier pitchers would prove to have the upper hand in this matchup, the Wildcats struck first in the top of the first as Ally Hutchins hit a leadoff single and advanced around the bases on a stolen base, a sacrifice bunt, and then a wild pitch to give Kentucky a 1-0 lead.

Virginia tied things up in the bottom of the second as Sarah Coon hit a leadoff triple and then came home on a sacrifice fly by Reece Holbrook. After a scoreless third frame, which included a great falling catch from Kelly Ayer in center field to prevent a Kentucky run from scoring, Coon led off the fourth with another triple and then scored on a wild pitch to give the Hoos the lead.

Leadoff batters continued to do damage for the Cavaliers in the bottom of the fifth as Kailyn Jones hit a double into the gap in right-center field and came around to score as Kentucky committed an error on Jade Hylton's bunt. A walk and a hit-by-pitch loaded the bases and then Macee Eaton scored Hylton with an RBI groundout to make it 4-1 in favor of Virginia.

The Cavaliers used three pitchers in the game with Courtney Layne starting and pitching the first two innings, Savanah Henley pitching the middle three innings scoreless and earning the win, and Eden Bigham closing out the last two innings and earning the save as she retired six of the seven batters she faced to secure Virginia's 4-1 victory.

The pitching staff took care of business, holding the Wildcats to only two hits in the entire game, but Sarah Coon is the player of the game as she went 2 for 3 at the plate with two triples and two runs scored. Coon was responsible for two of UVA's four runs and, perhaps concerningly for the Virginia bats, two of the team's four total hits in the game. Coon's two triples were the first three-baggers of her collegiate career.

“This is a great event. ESPN does a great job and the Shriners Children’s Clearwater Invitational is just amazing and we’re grateful to have an opportunity to be a part of the field. That was a great start," said UVA head coach Joanna Hardin. "We knew Kentucky would be tough. We knew they were coming into game two of a doubleheader and would be hunting and on the attack. I was proud of our effort and focus. There was a lot of potential interference when you come to a big event like this, but we stayed the course and played inning by inning and out by out.”

Up next, Virginia will play the second of three-straight games against SEC opponents when the Cavaliers take on Auburn at 10am on Friday as play at the Shriners Children's Clearwater Invitational continues. That game will be streamed on ESPN2.

More Virginia Sports News

Virginia Wrestling Demolishes Duke 39-0 at JPJ

UVA Women's Lacrosse Opens Season With 20-5 Blowout Over Liberty

UVA Softball Eager to Build on Historic '24 Campaign as 2025 Season Begins

Previewing the 2025 Virginia Women's Lacrosse Season

Virginia Men's Tennis Takes Down No. 1 Texas in 4-3 Comeback

Published
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.