Virginia defeated Liberty 4-0 on Apr. 28 at Kamphuis Field at Liberty Softball Stadium, ending the Lady Flames’ home schedule for the season. The Cavaliers, ranked No. 23 in this week’s NFCA/GoRout Division I Top 25 Coaches Poll, finished their regular season with a record of 37-12 while Liberty moved to 23-27.
The game was marked by a strong pitching performance from Virginia’s Taylor Smith and Eden Bigham, who combined for a two-hit shutout against the Lady Flames. “UVA’s Taylor Smith (two innings) and Eden Bigham (five IP) pitched a combined two-hit shutout, keeping the Lady Flames scoreless in the 4-0 victory,” according to the release.
Jade Hylton gave Virginia an early lead with a leadoff home run in the first inning. Additional runs came from Bella Cabral’s sacrifice fly and Reagan Hickey’s home run in the third inning, as well as another run scored during the fourth after Weismer crossed home plate following an Eaton walk.
Statistically, Virginia outhit Liberty five to two and left nine runners on base compared to four for Liberty. Dani Lee led offensively for Liberty with two hits out of three at-bats. For Virginia, Hylton went one-for-two with a homer and two runs scored; Cabral contributed one hit and one RBI; Hickey also added a solo homerun.
Historically, Virginia now holds a 52-32 all-time record over Liberty in softball and has won both meetings between these teams this season—the first time since 2014 that UVA swept both games against Liberty. Under Head Coach Dot Richardson, Liberty is now 25-99 against nationally-ranked opponents.
Looking ahead, the Lady Flames will finish their regular-season schedule with three games at Kennesaw State before heading into next week’s CUSA Softball Championship at Delaware.
