Softball: UVA faces Clemson Thursday in ACC Quarterfinals

Courtesy UVA Media Relations

The fourth-seeded Virginia softball team opens the ACC Championship on Thursday when the Cavaliers face fifth-seeded Clemson in a quarterfinal matchup. First pitch is set for 1:30 p.m. at the Duke Softball Stadium in Durham, N.C.

HOW TO FOLLOW

Thursday’s quarterfinal matchup will be broadcast on ACC Network and will stream on the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com. Live stats for the game are also available. Links to the broadcast and live stats are at VirginiaSports.com. Updates will also be on the programs official account (@UVASoftball) on X.

QUICK HITS

• Virginia (32-17) closed the season on a seven-game road trip and continues to play on the road this week with the ACC Championships hosted by Duke at the Duke Softball Complex.
• It’s the 27th appearance at the ACC Championships for the Hoos and third straight for UVA.
• The Cavaliers are the four seed – the highest seed since UVA was the two seed in 2010.
• UVA shattered pre-season expectations by finishing fourth in the league standings after being picked to finish ninth in the preseason poll by the league’s coaches.
• Virginia won 7-of-8 series in ACC play including six straight to close the regular season.
• Included in those six series wins are the win at No. 3 Duke and over No. 11 Clemson.
• The Hoos are in the hunt for an NCAA Tournament berth – the second ever in program history and first since the 2010 season when the Hoos went to the Knoxville Regional.
• Eden Bigham leads the ACC in strikeouts (161) after the regular season through 129.1 innings of work and is second in the league in shutouts (4).
• The UVA pitching staff ranks third in the ACC in ERA (2.34) and ranks 25th nationally.
• Bigham and Madi Harris rank in the top 25 nationally in strikeouts per seven with Bigham coming in 20th (8.7/7) and Harris at 24th (8.5/7). Bigham is also 20th nationally in fewest hits allowed per 7.0 innings pitched (4.33) and third in the ACC.
• Shelby Barbee was named ACC Co-Player of the Week last week to give UVA five weekly honors this season after her three home runs and .667 average at Georgia Tech. She was also named the NCAA Player of the Week by the organization.

FOUR HOOS RECEIVE ACC POSTSEASON HONORS

• Four Cavaliers were honored on Wednesday with post-season honors as voted on by the league coaches
• Eden Bigham and Jade Hylton were named to the All-ACC first team
• Shelby Barbee was named to the All-ACC third team
• Bella Cabral was named an All-Freshman team selection

THE CAVALIERS IN THE ACC TOURNAMENT

• Virginia is making its 27th appearance at the ACC Championships and third straight in 2024
• The Cavaliers have advanced to the ACC Championships five times under head coach Joanna Hardin
• The four seed is the highest for UVA since that 2010 team entered the tournament as the second seed
• Virginia is 13-10 at the ACC Championships as the fourth seeded team in the event and have advanced to the championship game four of five times as the four seed

THE SERIES WITH CLEMSON

• Virginia and Clemson (33-16) play for the fourth time this season when they face off in the quarterfinals at the ACC Championships
• The Cavaliers won the three-game series in Charlottesville this year, taking the Friday and Sunday games
• It was the first series win over the Tigers for UVA and also the Friday win marked the first-ever win over Clemson
• Clemson leads the all-time series 11-2
• This will be the first time the teams meet in the ACC Championships