Virginia Advances To Regional Final With Shutout Of No. 24 RedHawks

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – For the second straight day Eden Bigham tossed a gem and the Cavaliers used the long ball to power to victory as Virginia (34-19) shut out No. 24 Miami (OH) (49-9) with a 6-0 victory in an elimination game in NCAA Regional play.

With the win, Virginia advances to a regional final for the first time in program history and will face No. 3 Tennessee in a 4 p.m. contest on Sunday (May 19).

HOW IT HAPPENED
Virginia used the long ball to get things started in the third inning as Jade Hylton hit a solo shot to right center to put the Hoos up 1-0.

The Cavaliers pushed four runs home in the fifth inning to extend the lead on the RedHawks. It started with an RBI single up the middle from Abby Weaver that scored Jade Hylton from second and left two on. Two batters later, Shelby Barbee delivered a three-run shot to left field to take the lead out to 5-0.

Virginia continued to build on the lead in the sixth, getting a leadoff triple from Lauren VanAssche and an RBI single to right from Kassidy Hudson to make it 6-0 for the Hoos.

Eden Bigham (16-7) picked up the win as she allowed the one hit in the sixth inning, walked one and struck out seven in the complete-game effort.

Addy Jarvis (19-2) suffered the loss, allowing six runs on seven hits with two walks and three strikeouts. Only two of the runs allowed were earned.

NOTES ON THE GAME

• Virginia is now 3-3 in NCAA Regional play heading into Sunday’s game against No. 3 Tennessee.
• The shutout of Miami (OH) was the second shutout of the RedHawks in as many days as Virginia also beat Miami 7-0 in the regional opener on Friday.
• Jade Hylton hit her 14th home run of the season with her solo shot in the third inning.
• Her 14 home runs is second most in a season in UVA history behind Lacy Smith (15) in 2019.
• Shelby Barbee’s home run in the fifth inning was her sixth home run of the season.

 FROM HEAD COACH JOANNA HARDIN
“I’m really proud of our team. It’s tough when you have that delay. Once we got on the bus I knew they were ready to go. This was a special night and is a special team. Playing on Sunday has been a goal of ours and we’ve put ourselves in that position. I was proud of the way we executed on all sides of the game and how Eden threw the ball. There was a different look in her eyes and I knew things were going to go our way. We’re excited to get another shot at Tennessee tomorrow. We know we have our work cut out for us, but we’re going to come out and do everything we can tomorrow.”