The stage is set as No. 14 Virginia Tech (31-10, 11-4 ACC) travels to South Bend to take on Notre Dame (25-11-1, 7-7-1).
One team is coming off their only run-rule loss of the season. The other has 10 run-rule wins this season, including their last two games. One side is trying to close strong to land a hosting spot in the NCAA tournament; the other is simply trying to continue an impressive streak of making the postseason.
Below is the schedule of games and broadcast information:
Friday, April 14, 6 p.m. ET, ACCNX
Saturday, April 15, 5 p.m. ET, ACCN
Sunday, April 16, 12 p.m. ET, ACCNX
For the Hokies, it is a chance for redemption after an 11-0 defeat at the hands of No. 7 Tennessee in Blacksburg on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Notre Dame dominated Michigan State in East Lansing Tuesday, 8-0, before returning home Wednesday and beating Indiana, 9-1.
Notre Dame, which was picked fifth in the ACC this season, has a current RPI of 55 and is squarely on the NCAA bubble, which puts its streak of 23 consecutive NCAA tournaments in jeopardy. A series win against the Hokies would certainly boost its résumé.
The Irish have ACC series victories against Louisville (2-1) and NC State (2-1) but lost vs. Pitt (1-2) and Duke (1-2). They split with Syracuse, too (1-1-1); the tie with was a scoreless seven-inning contest that was delayed by rain and ultimately called because of the Orange travel schedule.
This series is the first in a challenging gauntlet of opponents for Virginia Tech with Florida State and Clemson awaiting the following two weekends. A strong finish for the Hokies would improve their RPI and give them a shot at hosting first round games in the NCAA tournament.
“We’re coming up on a challenging stretch of the season,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “Notre Dame always has as much talent as any roster we play. Like any weekend, we need to be ready from the start.”
Notre Dame is second in the ACC in batting average (.323) and is the hardest team in the conference to strike out (112 K in 1,013 ABs). The Irish have seven starters that hit .300 or better, including junior Karina Gaskins, who was the 2022 ACC Player of the Year after leading the league in hitting with a .428 average and 61 RBIs.
In the circle, graduate student Payton Tidd is in her fifth season in an Irish uniform. She has started 100 games in her Notre Dame career, including 17 this season. Tidd has a career ERA of 2.61 and is coming off a complete game vs. Indiana where she yielded just three hits.
Freshman Micaela Kastor (6-2) leads the Irish in ERA (1.89) and has started nine games and struck out 56 batters in 69⅓ innings. Sophomore Shannon Becker (7-3, 3.47 ERA) has 11 starts and 54 strikeouts in 68⅔ innings.
Virginia Tech has seen its team batting average slip back under .300 (.298), though it is still averaging over six runs per game. The Hokies still lead the country in home runs per game (1.88) and are ninth in slugging percentage (.569).
Tech pitcher Emma Lemley (19-4, 2.74 ERA) will look to bounce back from a tough outing against Tennessee. She still leads the ACC in strikeouts with 215 in 150⅔ innings and complete games with 20.
Freshman Lyndsay Grein (7-3, 3.86 ERA) is gaining confidence with each outing and will be looking forward to pitching within 100 miles of her hometown of Mokena, Ill. Molly Jacobson (4-2, 3.00 ERA) has only given up two earned runs in her last three outings.
Virginia Tech has traditionally struggled against Notre Dame with an overall record of 8-29. The Hokies are 4-17 in South Bend and have lost 18 of their last 20 games to the Irish.
However, the last time they met was in the 2021 ACC tournament. Tech recorded a key 4-1 win behind RBI triples from Cam Fagan and Emma Ritter.
Here’s the tale of the tape:
