Softball Invitational–Open Division Rundown

A cold front and deluge of rain soaked The Park as the UVA Open Blue and Orange opened the UVA Softball Invitational Tournament on the afternoon of Friday, March 27. While the Co-Rec games were suspended for the afternoon, the teams competing in the Open Division dueled on the turf field of The Park without the luxury of fences or borders.  

The offenses of both Blue and Orange bogged down in the downpour, as they suffered losses to Penn State (Dickinson) and Richmond (Alumni), respectively. The Penn State offense rained down on Blue. Brendan Markey ’26 slammed an impressive shot over the Penn State left fielder that rolled to the wall of The Park, as he sprinted around the bases for a home run to narrow Penn State’s lead. Blue’s offense broke through again late in the game with a number of walks and base hits, but it was not enough to defeat the Nittany Lions. Orange, playing simultaneously just across the same turf field, could not break through against a stout Richmond defense, which held the Orange offense at bay throughout the afternoon.  

Both teams left The Park drenched and cold, forced to drown their sorrows at Crozet & Ellie’s, hoping for better luck and weather on Saturday. Blue would face Harvard (Alumni), and Orange would face Missouri on Saturday, seeking to sneak into the playoff rounds on Sunday. Due to the rain and forfeit by Brooklyn Law, both Orange and Blue had just one more shot at the playoffs. 

Both teams did not squander their chances on Saturday. Orange unleashed its offensive firepower against Missouri. With no mercy rule in effect, Orange continued to score runs until the hour time limit expired and the umpire suspended the game. The time expiration cost Orange an opportunity to bolster its run differential, which would prove consequential for its playoff hopes. Ethan Benson ’28, Caleb Sampson ’28, and Ben Leonard ’28 led the Orange offense to victory, batting balls deep into the “outfield” lacking fences for home runs. Orange Co-Captain William Seidman ’26 hit multiple home runs for Orange, sending Missouri back to the Show-Me State winless in their first appearance at the Softball Invitational. On Park One, Blue battled the Harvard alumni in a close affair that was decided by a towering Noah Coco ’26 home run in the final frame. Like Orange, Blue’s offense was cut off by the expiration of time, and their prospects of a playoff appearance were left dependent on the result of the Penn State-Harvard game at 9 p.m. 

When the playoff bracket for the Open Division was unveiled early Sunday morning, Blue had snuck into the playoffs as the eight-seed. However, Orange had been left out of the final eight teams. The top two teams from each Open Pool advanced, leaving Orange just short of a quarterfinal appearance on Sunday due to run differential. 

The first round of the Open Division playoffs commenced at 11 a.m. at Darden Towe Park. Of the eight teams to advance to the quarterfinals, two were UVA teams: UVA Blue and UVA Iron. The UVA Law alumni of UVA Iron had returned to Charlottesville for a shot at softball glory in the Open division. UVA Iron opened against LaRussa’s Legends, a team of Florida State alumni who have dominated the Open Division since its inception. But the repeat champions from Tallahassee could not stop Iron, as they advanced to the semi-finals, behind the crafty pitching of Ryan Taggert ’12 and an exceptional defense.  

At the same time, Blue sought to upset the first-seeded Penn Law Goats. In a back-and-forth game, it was Blue who remained standing after an hour. Multiple catches with the wind swirling from Darren Nelson ’28 and Ty Irwin ’26 in the outfield saved Blue. Nelson leapt into the air for multiple catches, preventing Penn from taking the lead. Pietro Guarisco ’27 kept the Penn offense in check at pitcher, tossing strikes and giving Penn’s sluggers little to feed off. Star second-baseman and newspaperman extraordinaire Sam Koeppel ’28 caught a pop fly at second to close the game and send Blue to the semi-finals to face UVA Iron, in an inter-UVA law matchup.  

Iron knocked in the first runs of the game, but Blue quickly responded, evening the score and later taking the lead. The semifinal was marked by stellar defense from both sides, with Blue Co-Captain Sami Islam ’26 tracking down multiple high fly balls in right field despite the wind whipping unpredictably. Co-Captain’s Islam and Connor Downs ’26 both contributed on defense and offense, with Downs striking multiple base hits.  

With no time limit imposed, the victor after seven innings would advance to the finals. At the end of five innings, UVA Iron held a slim lead. In the top of the sixth, Andrew Bender ’26 sent a ball, far above the head of the left fielder, to the fence. His hit plated one run to bring Blue within one run of Iron. Bender sought to extend his shot into a home run, but was caught at the plate, leaving the score at 10–9. The Blue defense held the Iron offense scoreless in the bottom of the sixth. Despite Jimmy Donlon’s ’26 clutch base hit in the top of the seventh, Blue could not bring in the tying run, and UVA Iron advanced to the finals to face Penn State (Dickinson), who defeated the JAG team in the semifinal.  

UVA Iron cruised to victory against Penn State, defeating the Nittany Lions by over twenty runs. Meanwhile, UVA Gold secured their victory in the Co-Rec final against Georgetown Aiders and Abatters, in a 16–11 game, achieving a sweep of the Softball Invitational for the host. This marked the first UVA Co-Rec Softball Tournament victory in three years. The UVA spirit pushed through an early Georgetown lead and a close-matched game through to the seventh and final inning. So long as UVA held Georgetown out from making runs in the final moments, victory would be secured. When Emma Grace Allen ’27 caught the final ball of the game, cheers erupted, and the rest of the team raced to one another. It was the perfect cap on the weekend.  

Author: Sam Koeppel ‘28