TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — It wasn’t a thing of beauty, but No. 17 Virginia Tech came from behind to defeat Southern Utah 6-3 in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader. In the first game of the day, the Hokies rode the two-hit pitching of Emma Mazzarone to a 4-0 win.
“We were able to win without our ‘A’ game tonight,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “For whatever reason, we were lethargic from the beginning of batting practice today and that falls on me. I don’t think we’ll have a problem being amped up tomorrow.”
The Hokies (12-2) started the day on fire, scoring three runs in their first inning against the Thunderbirds. After Jayden Jones reached on a leadoff walk and Jordan Lynch singled, Michelle Chatfield drove them in with a double and scored on a Cori McMillan single. Chatfield later added a solo home run in the fifth, her second of the season.
BOOM!!! Michelle Chatfield with the bomb to center, 4-0 VT pic.twitter.com/rU2S4M8Vtf
— Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) February 22, 2025
That was all the run support that Mazzarone needed. She limited Southern Utah to a pair of singles while striking out a career-high 10 batters and only walking two, lowering her 2025 ERA to 1.27.
“I was trying to throw strikes and hit my spots,” Mazzarone said. “I had good defense behind me like always, so I just had to throw strikes.”
In the second game, it was the Thunderbirds who struck first. They scored three runs in the first inning off Tech starter Cassie Grizzard, who yielded two doubles and a single.
That margin held up until the fourth inning when a pair of Southern Utah errors set the stage for a three-run blast from Bre Peck that tied the game.
BOOM!!!! Bre Peck with the 3-run bomb to tie the game!!! pic.twitter.com/jI0y2vKcTr
— Chip Grubb (@Hokiechip) February 23, 2025
The Thunderbirds threatened to retake the lead in the fifth inning when a pair of singles off reliever Sophie Kleiman put the go-ahead run on second. Then D’Amour summoned Emma Lemley to the circle, and the star of Friday’s victory against Alabama promptly retired all eight batters she faced, four of them by strikeout.
The Hokies took the lead for good in the bottom of the fifth. A single by Lynch and a double by Chatfield put runners on second and third, and both scored on a double by McMillan. Peck drove in McMillan for her fourth RBI of the day — Tech’s sixth and final run.
Peck, who had been in a little slump entering the second game of the day (4-for-18 dating back to Feb. 15), busted out of it in a big way, going 3-for-3.
“I just got some advice from Coach Pete about changing one little thing with my arm and that really helped,” Peck said. “I had been ahead of some of the pitches so I just waited on them and made those adjustments.”
The Hokies are back in action on Sunday with a rematch with No. 21 Alabama that is scheduled to begin at 1:30 p.m. ET and will be televised on SEC Network Plus. Tech beat the Crimson Tide 2-1 on Friday.
Box Score: No. 17 Virginia Tech 4, Southern Utah 0
Box Score: No. 17 Virginia Tech 6, Southern Utah 3