Just a few days after holding No. 4 Florida State to two hits, the elite pitching duo of juniors Eden Bigham and Courtney Layne gave a less spectacular but still solid effort for No. 25 Virginia softball. They only gave up six hits to Liberty batters, who, entering the game, had the 18th most hits in the entire country. The problem was two of those hits were doubles and one of them was a homer.
One of the doubles, unfortunately, came on the last pitch of the entire game. Layne hit two batters in the bottom of the seventh and then gave up a two-run RBI double to senior Brooke Roberts, which turned the Flames’ (34-8, 13-1 Conference USA) deficit into a walk-off 4-3 victory and handed the Cavaliers (27-13, 8-7 ACC) their third consecutive loss.
Liberty is, by most metrics, a team on-par with Virginia — they are ranked 34th in RPI compared to Virginia’s 28th and notched an impressive win against No. 12 Alabama earlier in the season. Still, this was a winnable game for the Cavaliers.
Virginia had seven hits but only advanced three runners over the course of the game, and overall, Cavalier hitters left nine runners on base. This made all the difference, as Liberty had six hits and advanced five runners, only stranding seven on base. Virginia had more opportunities than their opponent to win the game, but failures to capitalize, even just a millimeter less than Liberty, cost them in the end.
Despite the heartbreak, there are some positives to note for the Cavaliers. Junior infielder Jade Hylton recorded her 11th home run of the season, which was the 35th of her career — tying Hylton with Sara Larquier for the most in program history. She also moved back into the team lead for homers this season after being tied with sophomore infielder Macee Eaton, who herself is 10 RBIs away from tying the all-time single season record for the school. Sophomore infielder Bella Cabral homered as well, her seventh of the season, and is now tied for third on the team with junior utility player M.C. Eaton.
This brutal loss continues what has plagued Virginia throughout the entire season — an inability to win on the road. The team now has 13 total losses, and only one of those was a home game. Of their eight wins in away and neutral site games, half are against ranked opponents and half are against unranked ones.
It is therefore not a problem of tougher-than-usual road opponents — there is just something about playing away from Palmer Park which the team struggles with. Playing better at home is normal, but this season, the team has one home loss and 12 road losses. Last season, they had six and 14. In 2023, they had eight versus 14.
The Cavaliers will have a chance to redeem themselves on the road against a Syracuse team that has lost four of its last five and allowed double-digit runs in three of those contests — the Orange are ranked 73rd in RPI this season. The three game series lasts from Friday to Sunday and also presents an opportunity for Virginia to shore up its conference record, which currently hovers just one game above .500.
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