CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The No. 14 Virginia softball team (25-3, 4-2 ACC) is back out on the road for an ACC series at Syracuse (11-10, 0-3 ACC) this weekend, beginning with a doubleheader on Saturday (March 21) at Skytop Stadium.
Due to inclement weather in the area, Friday’s game was postponed and set to a Saturday doubleheader that will now begin at 1 p.m. with game two at 3 p.m. Sunday’s game is still set for a noon first pitch.
HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
All three games of the weekend series are set for streaming on ACCNX which is available at ESPN.com and through the ESPN app. Live stats are also available and linked at VirginiaSports.com. Fans can also get updates by following the program’s official account on X (@UVASoftball).
NOTING THE HOOS
- Virginia enters the weekend coming off a series win over Georgia Tech at home last weekend, taking game one of the series 2-1 before grabbing the rubber match on Sunday with a 5-1 victory
- Eden Bigham threw her first complete-game of the season in the last outing, holding Georgia Tech to one run as the Hoos locked up the series victory over the Yellow Jackets
- Macee Eaton leads UVA at the plate, hitting .484 with a team-leading 42 RBI and tied for team lead in HR (9)
- Bella Cabral and Eaton are tied for third in the ACC in home runs (9) as they’ve helped pace the Hoos output
- The top five in the Virginia lineup have been prolific, combining for 121 of the 203 runs scored and 124 RBI
- Cabral ranks eighth in the league in RBI (32) and ranks ninth in batting average (.429)
- As a squad, Virginia ranks third in the ACC in home runs (42), fourth in RBI (187) and scoring (7.24 runs/game)
- The UVA pitching staff has also been locked in this season, and ranking third in the ACC in ERA (2.81) while ranking second in the league in fewest hits allowed/7.0 IP (5.53) and strikeout to walk ratio (2.77)
- Layne leads the league in ERA (1.46), WHIP (0.85) and strikeout-to-walk ratio (5.73) - she is top 20 nationally in WHIP and strikeout-to-walk ratio, while rankings in the top 25 in ERA nationally
- The Cavaliers come in at No. 22 in the latest RPI released by the NCAA and the Hoos are 9-3 against teams ranked in the top 50 of the RPI entering the weekend series at Syracuse
- Virginia is ranked in all four of the national polls, topping out at No. 12 in the latest Softball America rankings, No. 14 in the NFCA coaches poll, No. 16 in D1Softball and No. 18 in the USASoftball/ESPN.com poll
- Five Hoos are in the Softball America position rankings, Bella Cabral (No. 5 at 3B), Jade Hylton (No. 7 at SS), Macee Eaton (No. 8 at 1B) and pitchers Courtney Layne (No. 16) and Eden Bigham (No. 19)