Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The No. 24 Virginia softball team opens NCAA Tournament play at the Knoxville Regional on Friday when the Cavaliers take on Indiana. First pitch is set for 8 p.m. on ESPN at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION

All games of the Knoxville Regional will be streamed through ESPN.com and 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).

KNOXVILLE REGIONAL SCHEDULE

Friday
Game 1: Tennessee vs. Northern Kentucky, 5:30 p.m. (SEC Network)
Game 2: Virginia vs. Indiana, 8 p.m. (ESPN2)

Saturday
Game 3: Winner Game 1 vs. Winner Game 2, 3 p.m.
Game 4: Loser Game 1 vs. Loser Game 2, 5:30 p.m.
Game 5: Winner Game 4 vs. Loser Game 3, 8 p.m.

Sunday
Game 6: Winner Game 3 vs. Winner Game 5, 2 p.m.
Game 7: If Necessary, 4:30 p.m.

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!

NOTING THE HOOS

• UVA (38-13) enters the NCAA Tournament after a quarterfinal appearance at the ACC Tournament, hosted by the Hoos
• The NCAA berth is the third straight for the Hoos (2024-26) and the fourth overall in program history (2010)
• It’s the third time in four appearances UVA will play in a regional hosted by the Lady Vols (2010, 2024, 2026)
• Indiana will be the fourth Big 10 team faced by the Cavaliers this season, as Virginia has already faced Maryland, Michigan and Ohio State and went a combined 6-0 against those teams
• Virginia’s 38 wins matches last season’s win total, while the 37 wins in the regular season was the most by a Cavalier team since the 2004 squad posted 38 wins
• Senior LHP Courtney Layne enters the NCAA Regional ranked fourth in the ACC in ERA (2.31), leads the ACC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (4.36) and walks per 7.0 (1.50), and ranks second in the ACC in WHIP (1.04)
• She helps lead a staff that ranks third in the ACC in ERA (2.69), second in strikeouts per 7.0 (6.88) and WHIP (1.26). The Hoos also lead the ACC in strikeout-to-walk ratio (2.20) entering the weekend
• Layne and senior RHP Eden Bigham anchor the staff, as the duo have combined for 26 wins, seven saves and 198 strikeouts through 209.2 innings pitched together this season
• Junior 1B Macee Eaton leads the Virginia offense, pacing the team in batting average (.443), RBI (61), slugging percentage (.785) and on-base percentage (.508)
• Eaton was one of three Virginia players to earn All-ACC honors this season, taking a place on the first team, while junior 3B Bella Cabral and junior RHP Julia Cuozzo were named to the third team
• Five members of the team earned All-Region honors Thursday from the National Fastpitch Coaches Association: Layne and Cabral were named to the first team, while Bigham and Eaton were named to the second team and senior shortstop Jade Hylton was a third-team selection
• With the 2-1 victory over Pitt in the opening-round of the ACC Tournament, the Cavaliers improved to 8-1 in one-run games this season — the only loss coming at No. 23 Duke in game two of the series

THE HOOS VS. INDIANA

• Virginia and Indiana (42-14)have only met three times in program history, with the Hoosiers holding a 2-1 lead in the series
• All three previous meetings came at neutral fields, with the last meeting coming in the 2019 season at FAU
• Virginia won the first meeting in 1995, but IU won the 2001 meeting and the last meeting in 2019
• This is the first meeting between the teams in the NCAA Tournament and fourth as a neutral-site contest

VIRGINIA IN THE NCAA TOURNAMENT

• UVA is making its fourth appearance in the NCAA Tournament and third straight with the 2026 appearance
• The Hoos make a third appearance in the Knoxville Regional, having played there in 2010, 2024 and 2026
• Virginia is 4-6 in NCAA Tournament across the previous three appearances, including an appearance in the 2024 Regional Championship game against Tennessee in 2024

Top 16 National Seeds

1. Alabama (49-7)
2. Texas (42-10)
3. Oklahoma (48-8)
4. Nebraska (46-6)
5. Arkansas (42-11)
6. Florida (48-10)
7. Tennessee (42-10)
8. UCLA (47-8)
9. Florida State (49-8)
10. Georgia (38-18)
11. Texas Tech (52-6)
12. Duke (39-14)
13. Oklahoma State (38-15)
14. Oregon (40-12)
15. Texas A&M (36-17)
16. LSU (37-17)

If you want even more award-winning coverage on the UVA athletics department, including its nationally-ranked football and basketball programs, be sure to subscribe to “Cavalier Exclusive” to follow all of Virginia Sports Hall Of Famer Jerry “Hootie” Ratcliffe’s analysis and content. It’s the best in the business for Wahoo Fans!