Scouting the Columbia Regional opponents: No. 25 Virginia Cavaliers
For the first time since 2018, South Carolina softball will host a regional on the road to Oklahoma City. South Carolina will try to capitalize on a dominant season under first-year head coach Ashley Chastain Woodard.
Leading up to the postseason, GamecockCentral will be breaking down the other teams in the Columbia Regional. The second seed, Virginia, will face North Florida in the first round on Friday.
How Virginia got here
Finishing the regular season 37-17, 14-10 ACC, the Cavaliers earned their second straight NCAA Tournament bid. The Cavaliers fell to No. 15 Clemson in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals but had enough wins to clinch a spot in the Columbia Regional as the second seed.
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How Virginia stacks up against other NCAA Division I teams
Virginia finished the regular season, rounding out the NCAA top 25 as the No. 25 team in the country. In February, the Cavaliers upset the then-No. 4 UCLA Bruins 7-6 in the Mizuno Classic at Palmer Park.
This win started a 12-game win streak before losing to instate rival Virginia Tech in March. Later in April, the Cavaliers had another upset against then-No. 15 Stanford, winning 9-4.
Virginia finished seventh in the ACC softball standings after going 14-10 in conference.
Virginia’s Key Players
Sophomore Bella Cabral has made a name for herself since arriving at UVA. This season she has played in every contest for the Cavaliers, raking in nine homers and 38 RBI. The infielder is batting .368 on the season with a .441 on-base percentage and striking out just 10 times. Cabral leads the Cavaliers in batting average and doubles.
Virginia native Jade Hylton finds herself leading the Cavaliers in 61 hits, 60 runs, and a .790 slugging. The junior infielder is batting just below Cabral at .365. The pair has been dominant for the Virginia offense.
On the mound, junior Eden Bigham has been a star, leading the team with a 2.38 ERA across 138.0 innings with a 17-9 record. Bigham has given up just 66 runs compared to 121 strikeouts.
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The highest ERA on the pitching staff belongs to Savanah Henley with a 3.26 ERA across 73.0 innings. Two other pitchers own a sub-3.00 ERA. Courtney Layne is right above that mark at 3.02. The Cavaliers have an outstanding 2.83 team ERA this year.
Virginia’s previous history with South Carolina
The Cavaliers and Gamecocks previously faced off to start the 2025 season. South Carolina won both games in walk-off fashion in the Gamecock Invitational. South Carolina is 34-5 all-time against UVA.
Game one details
Virginia will play its first game against North Florida at 3 p.m. on Friday. The game will be streamed on ESPN Plus.
South Carolina will play against one of those teams on Saturday, regardless of the Gamecocks’ outcome against Elon on Friday at 5:30 p.m. on ESPN Plus.
