No. 20 Virginia Tech softball dominated Notre Dame in both legs of its doubleheader Saturday, winning 9-1 (six innings) and 9-3.
The Fighting Irish (8-7) had always been a challenge for the Hokies (14-3-1) in seasons past, winning eight of their last 10 matchups dating back to 2018. But with a resounding doubleheader sweep this weekend, Tech won consecutive games against the Irish for the first time since 2014.
Across two games, the Hokies hit six home runs — two each from third baseman Bre Peck and shortstop Michelle Chatfield.
While she didn’t leave the yard, left fielder Addy Greene contributed five hits — including two doubles, a single and a triple — while scoring three runs in the process.
“I was just taking it pitch by pitch and trying to do something for the team,” Greene told Tech Sideline after the game. “I’m not really thinking about if I’m 0-for-3 or if I’m 3-for-3 — I’m taking it pitch by pitch and helping the team as best as I can.”
Game 1: Virginia Tech 9, Notre Dame 1 (six innings)
Emma Mazzarone went the distance for the Hokies in Game 1, striking out six batters in a 9-1 run-rule win.
“[Mazzarone is] throwing upper 60s,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “She got out of some jams in the first couple innings especially. She just attacked hitters and was throwing hard.”
Mazzarone initially struggled to find the plate, issuing two walks and working three-ball counts three times in the first three frames. From there, she settled down, retiring eight consecutive Fighting Irish hitters to end the game. In six innings, she allowed just three hits, one unearned run and two walks.
“[Pitching coach] Josh [Johnson] always says to take it pitch by pitch and I have one of the best defenses behind me,” Mazzarone said. “That also helps a lot whenever I’m throwing.”
Tech’s freshman pitcher even contributed at the plate, when she pinch hit for designated player Annika Rohs in the fourth, knocking a bloop single into center field.
Dormant for the first two innings, Tech’s bats woke up in the third. With two outs, Greene hit a triple to score center fielder Emma Ritter. Second baseman Cameron Fagan then walked, and right fielder Cori McMillan scored her and Ritter to build a 3-1 lead.
The fifth brought back-to-back homers from Peck and Chatfield, plating four runs in the process. The Hokies built an insurmountable lead in the sixth, winning via run-rule when McMillan hit a two-run double.
https://twitter.com/HokiesSoftball/status/1764020703387439368
The Irish’s only run came on a throwing error from Hokies catcher Kylie Aldridge, who tried to back-pick third baseman Cassidy Grimm in the second inning. Aldridge’s throw sailed into left field, off line from third base, allowing Grimm to score easily.
Game 2: Virginia Tech 9, Notre Dame 3
Tech’s offense exploded in the first two innings of Saturday’s second game as it scored seven runs in those frames en route to a 9-3 win.
“As a whole, one through nine, everybody on that bench showed out,” Greene said. “This is a team effort, team score, and I don’t think there’s a day that any one person does it. We’re just really good at working together.”
Peck and Chatfield hit consecutive homers again in the first to break the score open. Peck’s shot soared onto Beamer Way, bouncing into the parking lot adjacent to Lane Stadium, while Chatfield’s landed in the trees past left-center field.
https://twitter.com/HokiesSoftball/status/1764034434494267608
Mazzarone, in the designated player position after pitching in the first game of the day, knocked her first collegiate home run in the fifth to give Tech its final six run lead.
https://twitter.com/HokiesSoftball/status/1764054370436469119
“I was just glad I got a hit, honestly,” Mazzarone said. “That was all I was thinking about.”
The Hokies were a strike and a reversed call away from an 8-0, run-rule victory in the fifth. With one out, Irish catcher Carlli Kloss hit a sacrifice fly to McMillan in right, advancing left fielder Emily Tran and pinch runner Mikayla LaPlaca. Umpires initially called LaPlaca out at second base for the third out but overturned the call after Notre Dame head coach Deanna Gumpf challenged it.
One batter later, Hokies pitcher Cassie Grizzard worked a 0-2 count before Irish second baseman Addison Amaral knocked a three-run homer, extending the game.
https://twitter.com/NDsoftball/status/1764052943681048923
Emma Lemley pitched 5 ⅔ innings for Tech, allowing two hits and no runs. She struck out five batters and walked three, finding the strike zone more consistently as the game progressed.
After a series win against an ACC opponent, the Hokies will look to wrap up a sweep against the Fighting Irish on Sunday at noon.
“We’re 2-0,” D’Amour said. “We gotta come back, get some rest tonight and be ready to go tomorrow.”