Virginia Hosts Commonwealth Clash Matchup Tuesday

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – The Virginia softball team (28-13) closes out the home portion of its schedule on Tuesday (April 16) when the Cavaliers host No. 15 Virginia Tech (31-9-1). First pitch is set for 6 p.m. at Palmer Park.

The game will count as half a point toward the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash.

HOW TO FOLLOW THE ACTION
Tuesday night’s game will be streamed on ACCNX and is available through the ESPN app and at WatchESPN.com. Live stats are also available. Links to the live stats and streams are at VirginiaSports.com. Updates are also available on the program’s official account (@UVASoftball) on X.

QUICK HITS

• The Cavaliers are coming off a series win over NC State this past weekend that included a 2-0 shutout on Friday and a 3-2 walk-off win in the finale on Sunday.
• Eden Bigham pitched a pair of complete games in the two wins to bring her season total to seven complete games and four complete-game shutouts on the year – three of those shutouts in ACC play.
• Bigham leads the ACC in strikeouts (147) and ranks 18th nationally after striking out 15 over the weekend.
• Shelby Barbee had a unique weekend at the plate with a .900 on base percentage as she went 3-for-4 and was hit by five pitches and drew one walk. She was 3-for-3 in the NC State series opener.
• Jade Hylton hit two home runs against NC State to extend her team-leading total to nine home runs on the season and she took the team lead in RBI with 29.
• Hylton upped her season average to .373 in ACC play as she, Leah Boggs and Bella Cabral have caught fire at the plate during conference play. Boggs is hitting at a .347 clip, while Cabral is hitting .321 against ACC teams.
• The Cavaliers hold steady in the RPI this week, coming in at 30 with a strength of schedule of 29.

THE SERIES WITH VIRGINIA TECH

• Virginia and Virginia Tech have faced each other 76 times with the Hokies leading the series 52-24
• Virginia Tech won last year’s series 2-1 in Charlottesville with a pair of tightly contested games
• Games one and two went to extra innings with the teams splitting one-run games to set up a rubber match
• The last time the teams met in midweek non-conference matchups was the 2021 season

ABOUT THE COMMONWEALTH CLASH

• The Smithfield Commonwealth Clash is a rivalry between Virginia and Virginia Tech across all school-sponsored sports with 21 individual event points on the line.
• The school that accumulates 11 points or more will be crowned the winner of the Smithfield Commonwealth Clash trophy.
• Virginia currently holds a 9-6 lead.
• Virginia captured the Clash in 2015, 2016, 2019 and 2023, while Virginia Tech won the Clash in 2017, 2018 and 2022. The 2020 and 2021 clashes were canceled due to the pandemic.