When people look back on this specific iteration of Cavalier softball — regardless of how the rest of the season goes — they will remember this 2-0 victory on the road against the best team in the ACC and one of the best teams in the country. Coach Joanna Hardin’s 200th career win came in the form of the single most important victory of the season, a dominant win in all facets over No. 8 Florida State in the first game of a three-game series.
Entering Friday’s matchup, Virginia (27-10, 8-5 ACC) was coming off of a brutal series upset at the hands of Notre Dame and, before that, a collapse in the last game of their series against California. Just like that, their ACC record went from 7-2 to 7-5, and the team crossed the threshold into double-digit total losses.
The biggest obstacle for the Cavaliers, across all their defeats this season, has been an inability to consistently win on the road. Only one of their 10 losses came at home, and only two of their seven conference victories came on the road. This particular weakness was exposed in that series against the Fighting Irish, who managed to defeat Virginia despite being ranked 89th in RPI, lower than every ACC team save Boston College and Pittsburgh.
Virginia seemingly limped into this series, whereas the Seminoles (34-6, 9-1 ACC) were charging into it at break-neck speed. 9-0 in conference play, ranked fifth in RPI and carrying a 14-game win streak, Florida State has been the very definition of unstoppable. That is, until a warm night on the first Friday in April when they hit a brick wall in the form of two Virginia pitchers — juniors Courtney Layne and Eden Bigham.
Florida State has been held to two runs or lower only twice this season. Both instances occurred on the road — they have never even scored less than three runs at home. Until now.
Layne held the Seminole batters hitless through two innings. They did not get their first hit until the third, when senior infielder Annabella Widra managed a double. Layne, however, finished out the inning without allowing another hit, leaving Widra stranded.
Entering the fourth, the game remained tied. Florida State possessed a conference-low ERA of 2.09 entering this series, with a sizable gap between the Seminoles and the next closest conference opponent. The Cavaliers were holding strong on the defensive end, but the offense was struggling to get anything through against the home team’s own impressive pitching performance.
Bigham took over for Layne and gave up a single to senior Katie Dack but finished out the inning without allowing a run to score. That would be the last time the Seminoles, who lead the conference in on-base percentage, managed a hit for the rest of the night.
The top of the fifth began with back-to-back outs for the Cavaliers on offense, but cracks started to appear in Florida State’s dam when senior Kailyn Jones mashed a triple. For the third time in the game, the team had a runner in scoring position — junior Jade Hylton capitalized fantastically.
Hylton clobbered the very first pitch of the at-bat, thrown by Widra, who has the fourth-lowest ERA in the conference, for a homer on the left side of the ballpark. After she rounded the bases and touched home plate for the third consecutive game, the Cavaliers possessed a two run lead that they would not relinquish.
Bigham pitched the rest of the game almost flawlessly, only walking two batters and striking out six in four innings, earning the win. She and Layne, who had two strikeouts herself, were particularly impressive considering the pair had to throw over 20 more pitches than Florida State’s four pitchers combined.
Virginia ended up scoring as many runs as the Seminoles had hits. Excellent pitching drove this, but the elite defensive showing was a team effort as well — the position players did not commit an error.
Despite only winning by two runs, this was a dominant effort from Virginia. Florida State, by RPI, is the best opponent the team has faced all season. To steal a win on the road, where 90 percent of the Cavaliers’ losses have occurred, is the most impressive victory of Virginia’s season. Look for them to potentially clinch a victory in the road series Saturday at 1 p.m.
Read More
Men’s lacrosse fades in second half, falls 18-9 to No. 8 North Carolina
By Sam Chun | 11 minutes agoMore struggles pushed last weekend's encouraging performance from memory.
No. 9 women’s lacrosse blows out Louisville en route to a successful Senior Day
By Peter Kratz | 13 minutes agoVirginia earned a much-needed win before a tough upcoming slate of games.
No. 25 Virginia softball falls just short versus No. 8 Florida State
By Victoria Blankenship | 34 minutes agoA last-minute momentum swing in the sixth inning gave the Seminoles a lead at the most crucial moment.
