No. 2 seed Virginia opens play Friday in the NCAA softball regional in Columbia, S.C.

By Jeff White (jwhite@virginia.edu)
VirginiaSports.com

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — It may not qualify as a second home for the Virginia Cavaliers, but Carolina Softball Stadium in Columbia, S.C., is a venue with which they have more than a little familiarity.

UVA launched its 2022 and ’24 seasons in Columbia, and the Wahoos were back there this February for another season-opening tournament hosted by South Carolina. And so when the NCAA tournament field was revealed Sunday night, nobody at Palmer Park complained about the Hoos’ draw.

Virginia (37-17) is seeded No. 2 in the double-elimination regional that starts Friday in Columbia. South Carolina (40-15) is seeded No. 1, North Florida (45-13) is No. 3, and Elon (33-19) is No. 4.

“I think that was our No. 1 [choice], and we got our No. 1, so we’re pretty excited for that,” senior third baseman Sarah Coon said Wednesday before the Cavaliers bused to Columbia.

“I think a big thing for us is we’re comfortable there,” head coach Joanna Hardin said. “We’ve been there multiple times … so we are familiar with Columbia, we’re familiar with the facility, we’re familiar with just how to get in, how to get out, some of those things that I think when you’re going to a new facility [can be challenging].”

In the regional’s first game, Virginia meets North Florida at 3 p.m., with South Carolina and Elon to follow at 5:30 p.m.

UVA’s first two games this season were against South Carolina at the Gamecock Invitational. In the first, the Hoos led 6-2 heading into the bottom of the seventh inning. In the second, they led 4-1 heading into the bottom of the fifth. In each game, however, the Gamecocks rallied for a walk-off victory.

“We kind of beat ourselves in those,” Virginia catcher Sydney Hartgrove said Wednesday.

“We know we had a lot left in the tank,” Coon said, “and we know we kind of lost those games ourselves. They didn’t really beat us.”

The Hoos would like nothing better than a rematch with South Carolina. They know, however, that can’t afford to overlook the ASUN champion Ospreys and their two-way star, Allison Benning.

“We’ve talked about how North Florida is very good,” Hartgrove said. “They have 45 wins. It takes a lot to win 45 games in a year, I don’t care where you come from.”

Hardin agreed….