The Virginia Tech softball team opens its 2024 fall ball season on Thursday at Tech Softball Park with a game against Pfeiffer at 6 p.m. ET. The contest is the first of seven for the Hokies over the next month, five of which will be played at Tech Softball Park.
Until recently, the Hokies have been limited to two hours of practice time per week (not including weight/conditioning training), so head coach Pete D’Amour is anxious to see his players in action.
“Heading into the 20-hour portion of the fall, we have roughly 30 practices to have the whole team together for significant amounts of time,” D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “We use our fall games as another practice to work on fundamentals such as knowing signs, our approach as hitters, baserunning and overall execution.”
Meanwhile, Tech fans are looking forward to seeing this year’s newcomers in action for the first time. The Hokies welcome eight new faces to this year’s team: seven players from class of 2024 along with junior transfer Sophie Kleiman from Indiana. Four of the freshmen appeared in Extra Innings’ top 50 rankings for the 2024 class: Jayden Jones (No. 6), Jordan Lynch (No. 10), Reagan Troy (No. 31) and Nora Abromavage (No. 37).
“The returning players know what to expect, and the newcomers have gotten up to speed rather quickly,” D’Amour said. “It takes some time to adjust to the way we do things, but I’m optimistic about the progress thus far. I’ve specifically seen major strides made with the sophomores. A year in the weight room and being in the program for a year has helped them a lot.
“We’ve made jumps in our overall bat speed and arm strength, and our pitchers have been working hard on mechanical adjustments.”
The Hokies are coming off of a 2024 season that saw them compile a 40-14-1 (18-6 ACC) record and earn their fifth consecutive NCAA bid. They had the best offensive campaign in Virginia Tech history, setting school records for hits (518), runs (417) and home runs (115). However, three of the top four hitters have graduated: Emma Ritter (.432 average, 14 HRs), Addy Greene (.424 average, 14 HRs) and Cameron Fagan (.373 average, 10 HRs).
The Hokies return record-setting sluggers Cori McMillan and Michelle Chatfield, though. McMillan set the Tech single-season home run record last year with 21 round-trippers while Chatfield established a new freshman record with 19 bombs.
The Hokies also return Bre Peck, who has hit 40 career home runs, 10 shy of the all-time program record, along with Rachel Castine, who hit five home runs (including three grand slams) in just ten games before a season-ending injury sidelined her.
Senior Emma Lemley (50 career wins) and sophomore Emma Mazzarone (9-3. 3.35 ERA) return to anchor the pitching staff. Kleiman, junior Cassie Grizzard and freshmen Bree Carrico and Troy should provide depth.
“It’s too early to tell, but it looks like our pitching and defense will be where we need it to be,” D’Amour said. “Offensively, we’ll be fine. We haven’t faced live pitching yet so we’ll see gradual improvement there.”
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