42 Years of an Iconic UVA Law Tradition
Intro
The 42nd Annual UVA Law Softball Invitational was a huge success this past weekend, April 4–6. It began on Friday afternoon when Dean Leslie Kendrick ’06 and UVA President Jim Ryan ’92 threw simultaneous first pitches, both right over the plate. The tournament raised over $45,000 for ReadyKids, a local nonprofit that provides counseling, family support, and early learning opportunities for children in Charlottesville.[1] And it was the largest in the event’s history, hosting 82 teams from 42 law schools across the nation. Teams from the University of Florida Levin College of Law and the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School won the Co-Rec and Open Division Championships, respectively.[2]
I. Virginia’s Great Run
True to form, UVA fielded many teams. In the Co-Rec Division, there was Virginia, Co-Rec Blue, Co-Rec Orange, and Hoos Your Daddy. And in the Open Division, there was UVA Open Blue, UVA Open Orange, UVA Iron, and the notorious UVA Gap Filler. Both the Blue and Orange teams advanced to the semifinals. Major reforms in the tryout process produced the Virginia team,[3] and this reporter wanted to see first hand their exploits. Below is my coverage of their games.
On Friday afternoon, Virginia made easy work of their first opponent, the Richmond Spiders. Before the game started, this reporter asked team captain Matan Siskind ’25 for any pregame comments he had. “Circle back” was all I got from this tight-lipped chieftain. But I never felt the need to because this game went very well from the beginning. Sam Meyer ’25 hit a home run. Buddy Palmer ’26 hit an easy triple after being pickled between third base and home plate. But Colleen Sullivan ’27 easily brought him home with an RBI. Things got interesting when, in the words of announcer Ben Keller ’25, “We have a blaster here in CJ Wittmann [’25].” Blast, he did. Wittmann hit a grand slam early in the game to cement Virginia’s first round win. Fielding was solid, with a highlight coming from Siskind himself, who barehanded a grounder to second to make the double play at first. Virginia closed out the game at 28-0.
Going into Saturday morning, perhaps due in part to Friday night shenanigans, there was notably less enthusiasm on the diamond. Virginia was set to play the Yale Law Bad News Barristers[4] at 9:00 AM. But some early roster issues left Virginia with only three outfielders for the early innings. That, paired with a feeble pregame chant, made this reporter wonder whether Yale could pull an upset. But Virginia still dominated with a comfortable 16-0 victory. Siskind was in typical form at shortstop, initiating several double plays in conjunction with reliable second baseman Emma Callaghan ’25. And team captain Regina Argenzio ’26 made a phenomenal diving catch from the pitcher’s mound. The bats started out a bit cooler than Virginia is accustomed to, but that did not stop Meyer from hitting two deep home runs. By the fifth inning, bats were loosening up. Sam Quinan ’25 smoked a home run over the fence and onto the hill, Palmer ripped an easy triple against the left fence, Wittmann was hitting reliable RBI doubles, and Jack Parker ’25 found the sweet spot with a home run over center field. Daniel Dunn ’25 got himself to third base after a solid line drive but, paired with typical UVA Law smarts, spotted an overthrown ball to home plate and turned the at bat into another home run for Virginia. After shaking off last night’s excesses, Virginia was back in peak form and ready for another challenge.
Virginia’s final game before heading to the playoffs was against the Penn Law Silver team. The men and women in orange won handily. Enough said.
Sunday morning was a good start. Virginia, ranked 6th after the preliminary games, faced the Maryland Tortles, who were ranked 27th. Even after a long night out, the Virginians looked unstoppable, winning the game 29-1. The next playoff game was against the Georgetown Bona Fide Benchwarmers, who put up a great show against our school’s top co-rec team. The outfield was again locked up by Meyer, Palmer, Parker, and Quinan. And from the pitcher's mound, Argenzio threw several strikeouts. Or, as one fan put it, “She gave them the cheese.” The highlight at bat was Dunn’s grand slam in the bottom of the fifth. Virginia advanced from the first playoff round with a final score of 13-7.
For the quarterfinals, it was time for a revenge game. The Indiana Hoosiers were on top of the world after defeating Co-Rec Blue because of a dubious umpire call. See infra Part II. But Virginia wanted to make sure they hit the road early enough to get Monday’s readings done. The first inning was tough for Virginia. The Hoosiers brought in five runs and looked unstoppable at bat. They were finally slowed down by a quick grab from Sullivan at first. Virginia’s batters brought some life back into the team after Dunn hit a monster home run and Meyer and Palmer followed with RBI doubles. In the bottom of the second, though, the Hoosiers had the bases loaded, but were stopped by a great catch from Parker in the outfield. This would happen again in the bottom of the third inning, but with just one out against the Hoosiers. In spite of the odds, Quinan caught a deep ball to right field and hucked a great throw to Dunn at third so he could tag out the unsuspecting baserunner. While a great defense is always helpful, the top of the fifth inning was a movie for Virginia. With bases loaded, Wittmann, also referred to as “dark CJ” on Sunday while coping with a Duke basketball loss, blasted a grand slam. This prompted one Virginia superfan to opine: “He’s playing chess but these other guys only know checkers.” Sullivan and Callaghan continued to lock up first and second base, respectively, sending Virginia to the semifinals.
The semifinals took us away from the familiar confines of North Grounds and into the cold embrace of Darden Towe, with its formidable 300 ft fence greeting all those who enter. This matchup pitted Virginia against Florida Law, an impressive team by every metric. What followed next was the most exciting shootout I have seen in UVA Law softball. The Floridians put up a great first inning, scoring seven runs with a few balls sailing the fences. Every out was hard fought for the Virginia team, but they kept their chins up and answered Fla. with four runs in the bottom of the first. Sullivan, Siskind, Argenzio, and Quinan all had great RBIs, showcasing the scrappy softball that was needed on this monstrous field with heavy winds in their faces. The next three innings were a defensive stalemate, with great fielding all around. Meyer, Parker, and Siskind were brick walls against anything that came their way. 1L Catherine Hall, playing catcher, made several fantastic outs at home plate when the pressure was highest. And, playing pitcher, Argenzio even took a line drive to the leg but still got the batter out at first. Grit notwithstanding, the sluggers from Fla. were still able to put a few over the fence. Things were heating up in the bottom of the fifth for Virginia, when Dunn hit a monster three-run homer over the fence. And then Callaghan tied the ball game with a fantastic RBI single. “It got too cold for their Florida blood,” one fan shouted out. But the Floridians came back with a phenomenal sixth inning, bringing the score to 19-12. Virginia responded by locking in at the bottom of the sixth. Siskind ripped a double. Dunn brought him home with another home run. Sullivan ripped a line drive to get on base, brought home by a blasted home run from (“dark CJ”) Wittmann. Meyer followed suit with another home run, and the game was 19-19 going into the seventh and final inning. Unfortunately for Virginia, the team from Fla. had too many big hitters to stop. This phenomenal and exciting game sent Florida to the championship with a final score of 26-19. Everyone in the stands thought it was a pleasure to watch this Virginia team in action.
II. Great Showings from Our Other Teams
This reporter was also fortunate enough to follow Co-Rec Blue in the tournament. After a tough first game on Friday afternoon, the Blues surged back into the competition with a 29-3 victory over Harvard Loose. That meant that their final preliminary game would determine whether or not they could make the playoffs. And the Charleston School of Law White team would not go down easy. The game started well in the field. 1L Carolyn Allen tagged a Charleston base runner out at home as she dove head first into the plate, refusing to give up a run in the top of the first. Bats cooled down during the second inning, and Charleston was looking tough to beat. But a third inning rally was ushered in by Chris Jernigan’s ’26 deep home run. Nick Rushing ’26 followed suit by blasting another ball over the fences. And, after team captain Zoe Kiely ’25 hit a line drive base hit, her co-captain Jonathan Price ’25 placed a perfect ground ball past third base to get her across home plate. But this was just the beginning. After two outs in the bottom of the fourth, every bat on Co-Rec Blue went “torpedo.” Thomas Wolfson ’27 smoked a homer. Marie “Big Slugger” Ceske ’25 placed a line drive perfectly through right field to earn herself a triple. Jeff Stautberg ’25 followed her lead with a base hit to get Ceske across home plate. Jernigan and Rushing each roped another ball over the fence, only to be followed by a triple from Emma Allen ’27 and a homerun from Braedon Sims ’26. The bottom of the fourth inning looked better than the home run derby, securing Co-Rec Blue a solid 14-4 victory and punching its ticket to Sunday. And throughout this game, the stands were a microcosm of our unique UVA Law community. Orange jerseys were out in force, and Kattie Barbella ’25 and Alexa Rothborth ’25 made everyone smile by bringing a little companion they called Zig-Zag.[5]
Sunday morning, the Blues were ready to contend with the BC Legal Eagles in an 8:00 AM game. But it was a no-show forfeit, so the Blues would have to wait patiently for an 11:00 AM game. As a Chestnut Hill alumnus, this reporter felt personally slighted.
Notwithstanding the long intermission, the Blues were in good form against the Indiana Hoosiers. They ended the first inning up 2-1, thanks in no small part to Stautberg’s flawless performance in left field. Matthew Steelberg ’25 and Jernigan delivered two more runs at the top of the second. In the third inning, Price and Sims added two more homers to the day’s tally. When it came to fielding, this was Price’s game. He caught several tough pop ups in the outfield, and even did a backwards somersault to keep one ball off the ground. And Price rounded out that performance with a crucial two-run homer in the fifth inning. But the Hoosiers were not going down easy. By the bottom of the sixth, they were in the lead, 12-10. One more inning was in order, and the Blues were excited to make the comeback happen. But, shockingly, the umpire called the game early on time and gave the win to the Hoosiers! Everyone in the crowd was sure that there was technically one minute left to start the seventh inning, which would give the Blues another chance, but the umpire was having none of it. And recent experience had indicated that this particular ump was not amenable to persuasion, so the Blues took the decision in stride and were the model of collegiality. It was an unfortunate finish to an otherwise excellent playoff run from UVA’s Co-Rec Blue. I look forward to seeing what the 2Ls and 1Ls on that team put together next year.
III. Conclusion
Spending so much time at the tournament this weekend in my final semester made me appreciate how special of a place UVA Law is. So, huge thanks are in order to all of my peers who organized the event, without whom none of this would have been possible: Isabel Cook ’25 (Tournament Co-Director),[6] Virginia “Ginny” Reams ’25 (Tournament Co-Director), Buddy Palmer ’26 (Deputy Tournament Director), Jack Parker ’25 (NGSL Commissioner), Brent Rice ’25 (Treasurer), Jess Pentel ’26 (Co-Head Field Monitor), Serena Shedore ’26 (Co-Head Field Monitor), Luke Mottola ’25 (Special Advisor), and Alexa Rothborth ’25 (Social Chair). From the fans’ perspective, this tournament went off without a hitch because of the tireless work of these student volunteers. And many of them offered integral help in writing this article, even while saddled with far more important obligations. I hope all the 2Ls and 1Ls look forward to experiencing and participating in this weekend tradition again.
[1] https://readykidscville.org/; see also Garrett Coleman, Invitational Teams Hold Tryouts, 77 U.Va 9 (Oct. 30, 2024)
[2] Special thanks photographer David Rimer, who went out of his way to assist the Law Weekly, and our Managing Editor, Emily Becker ’27, whose reporting helped with the creation of this article.
[3] See supra note 1.
[4] Points deducted for an unoriginal name. See Noah Coco, 3rd Annual 1L Section Softball Team Name Rankings, 77 U.Va 3 (Sep. 11, 2024) (ranking “Bad News Barristers” second behind “Injunctive Relievers”).
[5] This author was disturbed by Zig-Zag. But he seemed to do well with the crowd.
[6] Wesley Glenn wanted to be known as First Gentleman, an appellation I felt appropriate.
