MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. — No. 18 Virginia Tech continued its hot start to the 2025 season on Saturday with two more run-rule wins — 9-0 over North Dakota State (5 innings) followed by an 11-0 victory over College of Charleston (5 innings).
“We had another good day today,” Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “The pitchers have all been impressive. We’ve had a lot of contributors offensively, too. The most impressive thing about today was the overall intensity our players brought. The players were relentless for two whole games. It was a good day for us.”
The Tech (4-0) pitchers kept their scoreless streak alive in the two Saturday games, which now spans 21 innings. Through four games, opposing hitters are batting .086 (6-for-70) against the Hokies, have struck out 32 times and have only drawn four walks.
In Saturday’s opening game against the Bison, junior Sophie Kleiman started and threw four scoreless innings, striking out four and allowing three hits. Of her 46 pitches, 32 were strikes.
“I felt pretty good out there,” Kleiman told Tech Sideline. “I was trusting Coach Josh [Johnson]’s plan and just throwing my game. …
“Transferring to Virginia Tech has been amazing, mainly because of my teammates. They are so very welcoming. When I showed up, I felt like I had been here for years and this was the place to be. After about a month, I felt we were all best friends. We have such great chemistry and relationships.”
The Hokies wasted no time in giving Kleiman run support as they scored five runs in the top of the first inning.
Lyla Blackwell drew a leadoff walk and came around to score on a Cori McMillan double. After Michelle Chatfield singled to put runners on the corners, McMillan beat the throw home on a grounder from Bre Peck. After Emily LeGette walked, Zoe Yaeger drove in Chatfield with a single, and Jordan Lynch brought home LeGette and Yaeger with a double off the right-field wall. It was 5-0 in a flash.
In the second inning, Tech added to its lead when a single to center from LeGette scored McMillan. Three batters later, Jayden Jones hit a two-RBI single with the bases loaded that brought Chatfield and LeGette across the plate.
The Hokies have also gotten off to an aggressive start on the basepaths with nine stolen bases. It’s been a balanced effort, too — McMillan is the only player with multiple (two).
Emma Mazzarone relieved Kleiman in the fifth inning and closed the door by striking out three.
In the nightcap against the Cougars, McMillan handed Tech starter Cassie Grizzard an early lead with a two-run blast over the left-field fence on the game’s second at-bat. It was the second dinger of the season for McMillan, who is hitting .500 (5-for-10) despite being walked five times.
BOOM!!! Cori McMillan gives the Hokies a 2-0 lead in the first versus Charleston pic.twitter.com/0xhAgM7nj7
— Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) February 8, 2025
The score stayed 2-0 until the third inning when an unusual series of events ignited the Hokies.
Josh Johnson, Tech’s pitching coach, felt Charleston pitcher Mackenzie Mathis was stepping on the pitching rubber with her hands together, a rule violation, and approached first-base umpire Jordan Slate to voice his concerns.
However, Cougars head coach Tracey Lynch countered by making an issue of Johnson coming onto the playing field to complain — another rules violation that calls for an ejection.
The sequence fired up the Hokies and Mazzarone, who started the game as the designated hitter and was coming up to the plate. She proceeded to blast the very next pitch over the centerfield fence for her first home run of the year and the entire Tech team spilled out of the dugout to celebrate.
One pitch after the umpires eject VT pitching coach Josh Johnson, Wmma Mazzarone hits one to the next county and the Hokies empty the dugout to celebrate! pic.twitter.com/iWnojZh8N4
— Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) February 8, 2025
“I had a lot of adrenaline,” Mazzarone told Tech Sideline. “The [Charleston] coach was causing a ruckus and we were going to show her why you don’t cause a ruckus with Virginia Tech. The coach got us fired up. When she came out of her dugout to get Josh thrown out, we were all mad.”
In the fourth, Mazzarone entered the game as a pitcher and threw two perfect innings, striking out four. In her three frames on the day, she didn’t allow a hit while striking out seven.
“It felt really good today,” Mazzarone said. “My arm felt good. I was just trying to throw strikes.”
After Mazzarone’s two-run homer, the Hokies entered the fourth with a 4-0 lead, and that’s where they broke the game open. Over the next two innings, they racked up nine hits and seven runs. Senior Bre Peck drove in two of the runs, moving her team-leading RBI total to nine.
Between Saturday’s two contests, Jordan Lynch went 5-for-5 and scored four runs. Chatfield was 6-for-8 and also posted four runs. As a team, the Hokies are hitting .423 through four contests.
Virginia Tech concludes its trip at the Charleston Invitational on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET with another game against the Cougars.
Box Score: Virginia Tech 9, North Dakota State 0 (5 innings)
Box Score: Virginia Tech 11, College of Charleston 0 (5 innings)