The 2024 Virginia softball season came to an end on Sunday in Knoxville, as the Cavaliers were eliminated from the NCAA Tournament with a 6-0 loss to No. 3 overall seed Tennessee in the regional final.

Tennessee thoroughly outmatched Virginia in a Saturday afternoon matchup when the Lady Vols won 12-0 in five innings. In the rematch in the regional final, the Cavaliers looked to play closer to the SEC regular season champions. 

While the offense struggled in the game, the UVA pitching staff pitched more competitively in game two, and the Hoos lost 6-0. 

Eden Bigham pitched two complete games in two days, but she got the ball in the circle to start game three. Bigham struggled with her command early in the first inning, with a walk and a hit batter in the first three batters. 

After a passed ball put runners on second and third with one out, Bigham got a strikeout for the second out. However, Rylie West hit a two-run single on the first pitch she saw to give Tennessee a 2-0 lead. 

Tennessee’s pitcher Karlyn Pickens pitches in the low to mid 70s, a velocity that the Cavaliers haven’t seen often. All three Virginia batters put the ball in play in the first inning, but didn’t make powerful contact.

In the top of the second, Bigham retired the side in order. However, Karlyn Pickens had a quick inning of her own, only needing eight pitches. 

The Lady Vols got the best of Bigham in the top of the third inning. After a walk and a bloop single, Zaida Puni had an RBI single. Rylie West came up clutch right after, hitting a two-run double and doubling her RBI count. Madi Harris entered the game after the score was 5-0, and she retired two batters to end the inning. 

Harris worked around a walk in the top of the fourth to keep Tennessee at five runs. Abby Weaver had a highlight reel play with two outs, as she charged in and laid out to make a nice catch in right field. 

Abby Weaver was also Virginia’s first baserunner in the bottom of the fourth, as she worked a walk. The Hoos were still hitless through four innings. 

Rylie West continued her hot streak with a solo home run in the top of the sixth. West had three hits  and five RBI as the offensive MVP for Tennessee. 

Shelby Barbee broke up the no hitter in the fifth inning with a single, but Pickens got two strikeouts to make sure Virginia didn’t score. Leah Boggs added a hit of her own in the sixth, but the Tennessee defense got three ground balls. 

Madi Harris continued her solid pitching campaign through the end of the game. Harris finished with 4.2 innings pitched, allowing four hits and just one run. Harris’s great pitching kept the score close, despite the lacking offense.

With two outs in the seventh inning, Joanna Hardin subbed out her seniors to a standing ovation from the fans. 

In the bottom of the seventh, Sarah Coon got on base when she was hit by a pitch, but that was all Virginia could muster. Tennessee will advance to the Super Regionals. 

Virginia finishes the season at 34-20, and 15-9 in the ACC. Joanna Hardin has led her team to steady improvement over the past few years. The Cavaliers won 30 games last year but weren’t selected to make the tournament.

This year, UVA made its second ever NCAA tournament appearance, and got its second and third wins in program history. Thanks to the two shutouts of Miami of Ohio, Virginia made it to a Regional Final for the first time ever. By making it to Sunday, the Hoos are in the top 32 teams, a very impressive finish.

Seniors Abby Weaver, Lauren VanAssche, Madi Harris, Mikayla Houge, Savanah Henley, and Leah Boggs depart having been a major part of the turnaround for Virginia softball. They will be missed, but there is a ton of talent still on the roster for next season and the future is bright.

TOWSON, Md. — With a trip to the NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament’s Final Four in the balance, Connor Shellenberger delivered another signature moment during a storied career that has put him on the short list of the greatest players to wear a Virginia uniform.

The sixth-seeded Cavaliers’ all-time leader in points scored 2:20 into double overtime to secure a thrilling 11-10 win over third-seeded Johns Hopkins on Sunday afternoon in the NCAA quarterfinals at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium. Shellenberger’s 31st goal of the year sent Virginia to the national semifinals for the third time in four years and for the 26th time in program history.

The Virginia Cavaliers baseball team ended the regular season with a bang, taking all three from the Virginia Tech Hokies.

Thursday and Friday night were relatively smooth sailing, as the ‘Hoos led almost the entire way en route to 7-3 and 13-3 victories. Saturday night was more of a classic. UVA found themselves down 7-0, just to do exactly what they do best.

The Cavaliers stormed back to tie it in the seventh before eventually, Harrison Didawick launched his 22nd bomb of the season, walking it off in the thirteenth. Virginia saved the best for last in their 17th comeback victory of the season.

UVA finishes the year 40-14 and 18-12 in ACC play. Here is what we are taking away from the weekend:

Virginia dominates the Commonwealth Clash

The Commonwealth Clash is a year-long battle between ‘Hoos and Hokies where every men’s and women’s sport is weighted equally. As a result of baseball’s series win over the Hokies, UVA will finish on top 15-7 this season, marking their second consecutive title and tied for the largest margin in the competition.

Getting smoked in football practically every season is demoralizing; any Virginia fan would be lying if they said otherwise. Still, there is something to be said about a well-rounded athletics department and how it keeps the fanbase engaged fall through spring.

Evan Blanco and Joe Savino have their best starts

Turning the attention back to baseball specifically, Virginia’s current number one and number two starters ended the year with their best performances to date in orange and blue.

Blanco went 7.1 innings, surrendering two runs (both unearned) and five hits. While only a pair of strikeouts is nothing to write home about, Blanco’s ability to induce weak contact early in counts allowed him to go deep into this game. Quite frankly, he did not get ahead in counts as much as he typically does. But from a results perspective, this is huge. Blanco finishes the regular season with a 6-3 record and a 3.79 earned run average.

Joe Savino followed that up with a quality start of his own. He allowed two runs in five frames, with four hits and four free passes. Again, not the sharpest command, but something you will take every time against a quality Virginia Tech lineup. Damage control is the name of the game with this staff.

Don’t take Harrison Didawick’s season for granted

I feel like Jake Gelof made us all numb to the significance of explosive home run hitters. Let’s not allow that to happen.

In addition to making his mark in front of over 5,000 in the season finale, Didawick has provided pop in the middle of the lineup throughout the year. He is getting on base at a clip of .425 with a total of 22 long balls. Virginia is a program that’s known for quality at bats and high batting averages. But they broke their team single-season home run record a while ago, in large part because of Didawick.

Eric Becker’s bat is too powerful to keep out of the lineup

When you think Virginia baseball and first years, Henry Ford is most likely the first name to pop into your head and for good reason. Keep Eric Becker in the front of your mind as well, though.

Becker reached base five times on seven trips this weekend, including his eighth bomb of the year. The only reason he is not getting more at bats is his shaky defense at third base.

However, his bat is too good to ignore. Jacob Ference and Ethan Anderson have the DH/catcher platoon locked up and you can’t stick him at first because that’s Ford’s spot. Becker will continue to make most starts at third with Luke Hanson spelling him in situations that require a more sure handed fielder.

It’s postseason time!

Well, on that note, we turn the page to the next chapter, the conference tournament.

A quick reminder of the weird ACC format:

• The top 12 teams participate, divided into four pools of three.
• It is round robin in each pool. If all three teams go 1-1, the highest seeded team wins the pool.
• From there, the semifinals are set and it is single elimination.

The Cavaliers earned the conference’s fourth overall seed and will be the top ranked team in their pool, which also includes #5 Florida State and #9 Georgia Tech. Virginia is scheduled to play against the Yellow Jackets on Wednesday and the Seminoles on Friday, both at 11 a.m.

The good news is that if Georgia Tech beats Florida State on Tuesday and UVA wins on Wednesday, the ‘Hoos automatically advance to the semis and Friday’s game is essentially meaningless.

As far as the NCAA Tournament is concerned, the sweep puts Virginia in good position to host a regional as one of the nation’s top 16 teams.