Virginia Continues ACC Play At North Carolina

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (14-5, 2-1 ACC) hits the road this weekend to continue ACC play with a three-game series at North Carolina (17-3, 0-0 ACC). The series begins with game one at 5 p.m. on Friday (March 8) at Anderson Softball Field.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
All three games of the weekend series will stream on ACCNX which is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com. Live stats are also available for all three games. Links to the live stats and stream are at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can get updates by following the program’s official account (@UVASoftball) on X.

QUICK HITS

• The Cavaliers are in the middle of a road trip that consists of five straight games on the road and continues with the three-game series at North Carolina this weekend.
• Jade Hylton continues to lead the Hoos at the plate with her .356 average and 16 RBI. She hit her fifth home run of the season at Longwood to open the game and tie for team lead.
• Bella Cabral was hot at the plate at Longwood, hitting a pair of home runs and extending her hit streak to six straight games heading into the weekend at North Carolina.
• Virginia hit three home runs at Longwood for its fourth multiple-home run game of the season as Jade Hylton and Bella Cabral went back-to-back to open the game Tuesday.
• Eden Bigham continues to be a force in the circle, ranking seventh nationally in strikeouts per 7.0 IP (11.1) and 13th in total strikeouts (69). She is second in the ACC in both areas.
• Madison Harris leads the ACC in ERA (0.35) and ranks seventh nationally.
• The Cavaliers have put a stout defense on the field the last two seasons and continue that with a .975 fielding percentage this year that is third in the ACC and top 30 nationally.
• The Hoos have continued to apply pressure on the basepath going 35-of-38 on steal attempts this season. Jade Hylton is 9-for-11 while Kelly Ayer is 8-for-8 to lead the Hoos.
• Virginia ranks fourth in the ACC in steals per game (1.81) and is 36th nationally. The Hoos are third in the league in total steals entering the weekend.
• Savanah Henley threw her second complete game as a Hoo in her start at Longwood.

THE SERIES WITH NORTH CAROLINA

• Virginia and North Carolina have squared off 134 times with the Tar Heels leading the series 98-35-1.
• The Hoos took the series last year, winning the first two games in the series played in Charlottesville.
• The teams split the 2021 series 2-2 during the altered COVID season with Virginia winning the opening and closing game of the four-game set.
• The teams did not meet in a series in 2022, but met in a single-game at South Carolina in the opening weekend of play – a game one by the Tar Heels.
• The teams have gone 4-4 over the last three seasons.