Virginia Softball Falls to Syracuse 8-2 in First Round of ACC Tournament

The Virginia softball season came to an end with an 8-2 loss to Syracuse in the opening round of the 2023 ACC Softball Tournament on Wednesday afternoon in South Bend. 

After getting swept at Syracuse in the final ACC series of the regular season, the Cavaliers were seeded eighth in the ACC above the ninth-seeded Orange. However, Syracuse was able to beat UVA for a fourth time this season to advance to the ACC quarterfinals. 

Savanah Henley got the start for Virginia and retired the first three Syracuse batters in order. In the bottom of the first, Kelly Ayer and Jade Hylton got things started for UVA with back to back singles. Then, the Cavaliers executed a sacrifice bunt and a sacrifice fly to bring home one run, with Tori Gilbert getting the RBI.

Syracuse managed to load the bases with one out in the second inning, but left fielder Kelly Ayer threw out a Syracuse runner at home and Savanah Henley got a strikeout to strand three runners and keep the game scoreless. Both teams went three up and three down in their next at-bats.

Virginia doubled its lead in the bottom of the third. Lauren VanAssche hit a bunt single and advanced to second on a groundout, moved to third on a single from Jade Hylton, and scored on an RBI groundout from Katie Goldberg.

Syracuse didn’t wait long to respond, as Madison Knight tied the game with a two-run homer. After two Cavalier errors, Jenny Bressler came in to pitch. She walked her first batter to load the bases. A hard hit ball up the middle looked like it would continue the big inning for Syracuse, but Jade Hylton had other ideas. She dove across her body to stop the ground ball and tagged second base with her glove just before the runner made it there. She preserved the tie and showed up defensively after the two errors.

The Cavaliers were unable to regain the lead in the fourth inning, stranding a runner on third. In the top of the fifth, the Orange put together a single, a sacrifice bunt, and another single to have runners on the corners with one out. Then, a fielding error allowed Syracuse to take a 3-2 lead, but Jenny Bressler stopped Syracuse from extending the lead.

Next, Lauren VanAssche hit a leadoff triple, giving Virginia a great opportunity to tie the game. Kelly Ayer walked and stole second to add another runner in scoring position. However, Jade Hylton struck out and after a Katie Goldberg walk, Syracuse turned two on a ground ball to the pitcher to get out of the inning unscathed.

Eden Bigham entered the circle to pitch in the sixth inning, looking to keep it a one-run game, but the Orange had other ideas. Syracuse drew a walk, hit a single, and got a hit by pitch to load the bases with one out before Laila Alves hit a two-run single to make it 5-2. Joanna Hardin went to her bullpen again for Molly Grube, who entered with two on and one out. She managed to get one out, but then walked two straight batters to bring in another run. Courtney Layne came in as the third UVA pitcher of the inning, who was able to get the final out and keep the score at 6-2, after the three-run inning for Syracuse.

Abby Weaver got on with a leadoff walk in the sixth inning, but that was all Virginia could muster. Syracuse added two more runs in the top of the seventh because of two Cavalier fielding errors. The Virginia defense had five errors in the contest and while there were a few impressive plays made as well, the extra outs for Syracuse led to two unearned runs and many more at bats.

The Cavaliers got two baserunners on in the bottom of the seventh, but their struggles with capitalizing on scoring opportunities continued as Knight finished out the 8-2 win for Syracuse. Virginia was 2 for 16 with runners on base and 1 for 11 with runners in scoring position. UVA's pitchers gave up six walks and the Cavalier infield committed five fielding errors in the game. 

Jenny Bressler ended up being the losing pitcher despite giving up only one run in the game, while Madison Knight pitched a complete game for Syracuse to earn the win. Kelly Ayer and Lauren VanAssche both were 2 for 3 with one run scored to lead the Hoos. Syracuse will advance to play Florida State in the quarterfinals on Thursday at 11am. 

The loss likely marks the end of the season for Virginia, which finishes the season 30-22 overall. UVA won 30 games in a season for the first time since 2010. 

“It’s always disappointing when the season ends in a loss, but only one team ends the season with a win," said Virginia head coach Joanna Hardin. "We appreciate our fourth and fifth year class – what they committed to and what they’ve done for us. There’s a lot of benchmarks we’ve met this year and a lot of things we’ve accomplished. This is the first group that committed to me so it’s a full circle moment for me. I’m proud of them and our team for how they’ve elevated our program, but we’re pretty hungry and there is a fire in the belly. We’ll do some evaluation, do some reflection and come back to continue build on the foundation this class set.”

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