Cori McMillan's walk-off home run clinched Virginia Tech softball's series sweep over No. 16 Stanford. (Virginia Tech athletics)

Tied at five entering the bottom of the seventh, Virginia Tech right fielder Cori McMillan wanted to give her team some momentum.

She then gave the No. 12 Hokies everything they needed, drilling the second pitch she saw into the trees past center field, securing a 6-5 win — and a series sweep — over No. 16 Stanford.

McMillan went 2-for-3 from the leadoff spot on Sunday, adding a single and a walk to her total. Her efforts came after the Cardinal (24-6, 8-4 ACC) limited her to one hit throughout Friday and Saturday.

“They had kept me quiet for too long,” McMillan told Tech Sideline after the game. “I was tired of being kept quiet. They held me to one hit in the first two games, and I was tired of that.”

Stanford generated an early 2-0 lead, then the Hokies (28-5, 8-1) pushed back with four runs before the Cardinal tied it again. 

In the top of the first, Stanford first baseman Joie Economides blooped an RBI single, scoring center fielder Emily Jones from second base. Then in the third, Jones scored again on a wild pitch.

Tech reached the scoreboard in the fourth frame. Designated player Kylie Aldridge knocked her fourth blast of the season — which brought home Jordan Lynch — to tie it. A few batters later, McMillan scored left fielder Lyla Blackwell and shortstop Annika Rohs with a single to build a lead.

The Cardinal, though, turned a two-run deficit into a one-run lead in the fifth inning. First, third baseman Jade Berry singled to score second baseman Taryn Kern. Then, Jones scored her third run of the day on another wild pitch. Finally, right fielder Kyra Chan singled around shortstop River Mahler. Another run would have crossed on the latter knock, but Hokies center fielder Bre Peck gunned down a runner at home.

Hokies second baseman Rachel Castine punched back with a solo home run in the fifth inning to tie it, which set up McMillan’s game-ending blast in the seventh.

“There’s never any quit — ever,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “When we were down 5-4, I called everybody together and said: ‘Do you think we’re not going to score any more runs? We’re going to score runs.’ That was the mindset we came in with, to keep fighting and keep battling.”

Cassie Grizzard opened the game in the circle; she lasted 2 ⅓ frames and surrendered three hits and two runs. Of her 46 pitches, 28 were strikes — culminating in three strikeouts.

D’Amour swapped Grizzard for Emma Lemley in the third, trading a lefty drop ball pitcher for a righthander who throws mostly rise balls. Lemley lasted two full frames; though she gave up six hits and three runs, she left her team in a position to win the game.

Emma Mazzarone shut out Stanford throughout the remaining 2 ⅔ innings. Of the nine batters she faced, she struck out two and allowed no hits.

Other Hokies hitters contributed, though McMillan was the only one to notch two hits. Castine and Aldridge both homered. Blackwell notched a third-inning double — Tech’s first hit of the day.

Still, Tech hit just 2-for-12 with runners on base, including 1-for-7 with them in scoring position. Counter that from Stanford’s 7-for-15 clip with runners on base and 5-for-9 rate with them in scoring position.

In fact, the Cardinal out-hit the Hokies in every game this weekend — it was a 27-17 margin in all — but Tech still managed to win all three contests. It was a sign of resilience for a team that needed signature wins to solidify its position squarely in the top 16 — the threshold to host a regional.

“Our team is so gritty,” McMillan said. “We fight better than any team I’ve been on. We said that from the jump. We knew this weekend was going to be hard, we knew they would never lay down when we’re winning by one or two … They didn’t lay down, and we knew they wouldn’t lay down. We also knew we couldn’t lay down.”

Stanford advanced to the Women’s College World Series in each of the past two seasons before joining the ACC. D’Amour said adding the Cardinal and fellow former Pac 12 program Cal — traditional softball powerhouses — strengthened the conference and will boost the computer metrics which factor in strength of schedule. Sweeping Stanford — in the school’s first ever series — at a packed Tech Softball Park will help the Hokies even more.

“Felt like a super [regional],” D’Amour said. “Our kids need to feel this to be successful at the end of the year, and they really showed out. Our softball fans are really legit.”

More softball is ahead for Virginia Tech. It will face Liberty in the second half of a home-and-home at Tech Softball Park on Wednesday at 6 p.m. The last time the two teams met resulted in Lemley’s third of four no-hitters this season.

Box Score: No. 12 Virginia Tech 6, No. 16 Stanford 5