No. 3 Virginia Tech (33-6, 15-2 ACC) went to Knoxville Wednesday night and accomplished something that a Hokies softball team hadn’t done since 2008 – beat the No. 14 Tennessee Volunteers.
That 2008 Hokies squad made it to the College World Series, and this year’s team has similar aspirations.
Based on this season’s resume, that CWS trip is looking more and more realistic. The Hokies have now recorded 11 wins over teams currently in the RPI top 25:
No. 6 Northwestern
No. 7 Florida State – twice
No. 9 Clemson – three times
No. 12 Tennessee
No. 14 UCF – twice
No. 16 Kentucky
No. 22 Ohio State
Tech wasted no time jumping on the Vols Wednesday night as Meredith Slaw drove in Emma Ritter in the first inning. Bre Peck followed it up with a two-run shot to center field, her team-leading ninth home run of the year, which gave the Hokies a 3-0 lead.
https://twitter.com/HokiesSoftball/status/1516917597765316608?s=20&t=GeNynrafkScdOiqd_MhXmw
Tennessee made it interesting, scoring runs in the third and fourth innings to make it a 3-2 game. But Jayme Bailey hit a two-run bomb in the sixth to provide the Hokies with some insurance runs.
https://twitter.com/HokiesSoftball/status/1516943541582376960?s=20&t=aosl_00CLIDwZs5OmB8rVA
Emma Lemley (13-4) started the game in the circle for the Hokies and gave up a single earned run before being relieved by Keely Rochard for the final three innings. Rochard allowed just one base hit and struck out five in three innings to record her fifth save of the year.
“Tennessee is very hard to beat, especially on their field,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline after the game. “We were ready to play today. Emma and Keely pitched well and we scored 4 runs on two swings of the bat. That’s a recipe for success moving forward. Get in good counts and see if we can put a good swing on something.
“It’s important to have a good day of practice tomorrow. We need to be ready to play Friday.”
On Friday, Louisville (24-17, 8-7) visits Blacksburg for a three-game series. Tech is 11-8 all-time against the Cardinals, 5-2 under D’Amour, and took two-of-three games in last year’s series in Louisville. First pitch is at 6 p.m. on the ACC Network Extra at Tech Softball Park.