Softball On SI

Jade Hylton Adds to Her Legacy in UVA Softball’s Comeback Win Over No. 25 Liberty

Jade Hylton added another record to her resume as UVA softball rallied past No. 25 Liberty with a 5-3 upset victory.
Maren Angus-Coombs|
Virginia softball's Jade Hylton high-fives head coach Joanna Hardin as she rounds third after hitting a home run.
Virginia softball's Jade Hylton high-fives head coach Joanna Hardin as she rounds third after hitting a home run. | UVA Athletics

By the time Jady Hylton graduates after the 2026 season, she could be the greatest softball player to ever wear a Virginia uniform.

The junior added to her legacy on Wednesday night, hitting her 17th home run and scoring her 60th run of the season, tying a program record set in 2004 for most runs scored in a season.

Hylton's home run was the insurance run UVA needed to down No. 25 Liberty 5-3 at Palmer Park.

Liberty jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning on a leadoff double, a pair of wild pitches, and an error on a throwdown to third base.

However, the shutout didn't last long.

MC Eaton got the Hoos on the board with a solo blast off the scoreboard in left field to cut the deficit to 2-1.

Liberty got the run back in the third, taking advantage of some crafty base running and forcing Virginia to decide between getting the runner stealing second or holding the one at third. The Hoos threw down to second, and the runner from third scored to take a 3-1 lead.

The Cavalier tooks over in the fourth.

Kailyn Jones roped a double that scored Eaton and Kelsey Hackett to tie the game at 3-3. Hylton broke the tie with a two-run shot to give her team the lead.

"It was a tale of two games," Hardin said after the win. "We were a little sloppy at the beginning, but I loved the response, and that is important. A quality of a great team is how do they bounce back when things don’t go their way. Do we rise up or shut down? We rose up and kept competing."

Eden Bigham picked up the win and improved to 16-8 on the year. She allowed three runs on two hits with four walks and three strikeouts in the complete-game effort.

The win gave Virginia a record of 26-2 at home this season.

"“Our fans are awesome," Hardin added. "They have showed out and shown up for every game. You don’t go 26-2 at home without awesome support. We love playing here, not only is it a beautiful facility, but the people who have our back and have been supporting us."

UVA have a bye weekend due to finals and will await results from around the league before knowing what seed it will be for the ACC Tournament.

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Maren Angus-Coombs
MAREN ANGUS-COOMBS

Maren Angus-Coombs was born in Los Angeles and raised in Nashville, Tenn. She is a graduate of Middle Tennessee State University and has been a sports writer since 2008. She has been covering college softball since 2016 for various outlets including Softball America, ESPNW and Hurrdat Sports. She is currently the managing editor of Softball On SI and also serves as an analyst for Nebraska softball games on Nebraska Public Media and B1G+.

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