Bre Peck clutched the ball in her hand.
Admittedly, she didn’t know which ball it was. Three home runs on Tuesday means three home run balls. When you hit 52 home runs in your career, that’s a lot of home run balls.
“Coach Pete, which ball is this?” the center fielder shouted across the field following No. 12 Virginia Tech’s 12-3 win over Charlotte on Tuesday.
“The first one,” head coach Pete D’Amour responded.
The first one — the 50th of her career — came in the second inning. She saw a 2-1 pitch and sent it over the fence in right-center field.
The elusive 50th home run of Peck’s career tied the program record, which Megan Evans set between 2002 and 2005. The 51st of her career — and second of the evening — broke it.
Her second blast came in the fourth inning on a 2-2 count. The ball barely cleared the wall, but barely clearing the wall counts the same as sending it onto Beamer Way.
For good measure, the Royersford, Pennsylvania, native hit a third. That final bomb separated her further from Evans, but also drove in the 171st run of her career, breaking Kelsey Bennett’s program record.
“It’s actually a dream come true,” Peck said. “I never thought I would be beating a school record, so that’s pretty awesome.”
Peck is one of four seniors on the team, a steady leadership presence on a team that consistently regurgitates All-Americans. Though her batting average remained strong, she went 18 games without a home run between February 28 and April 5 — culminating in a homer on Saturday against NC State.
The slump doesn’t matter anymore. What matters is Peck has hit more home runs than anyone else in 30 years of Virginia Tech softball.
“It means a lot,” she said. “I never thought I would do it. I didn’t know [about the record] until Pete told me last year, after my junior year.”
Peck’s voice quieted, then she continued.
“He did say that I could play every single position if I beat it. So, just write that in there. He said I could pitch an inning.”
On Tuesday, Peck also tied single-game records for runs scored (four) and home runs (three).
“Bre has been a good player for us for a long time and just continues to get better,” D’Amour said. “She’s grown so much since she’s been here off the field; she’s a mature kid now. That’s good for everybody.
“She’s more confident in herself. She came in her first year and had a really good year. She didn’t say a lot, and at times you can’t shut her up now. The big thing with her is she’s figured out college. Good grades and never having an issue with her off the field. Just always battles and she’s been a good player for a long time.”
Peck scored four runs, meaning other Hokies (33-5) hitters notched the other eight. Left fielder Trinity Martin followed Peck’s initial homer with a single to right field, scoring third baseman Jordan Lynch. After Peck’s blast in the fourth, right fielder Cori McMillan followed up with one of her own — plating shortstop Annika Rohs, pinch runner Sara McNelly and herself.
The fifth inning brought a double from Lynch to right center field, which scored Peck. McMillan then doubled to bring around catcher Zoe Yaeger and Lynch. Then, to end the game, Yaeger launched a tank, launching the margin past eight runs and securing a run-rule win in six innings.
Emma Mazzarone began the game in the circle and lasted 4 ⅔ innings. During that time, she allowed three hits, three runs and three walks while striking out four. She found some trouble in the fourth inning when she surrendered a homer to Charlotte (20-22) shortstop Teagan Ritchie, but escaped the jams she faced and earned the win.
“I thought I could’ve had a better day, but it’s a midweek so we’re just trying to grind it out,” Mazzarone said. “[Gave up] three hits, so that’s good. Just gotta keep the walks down.”
Emma Lemley entered with two outs in the fifth and finished the game, tossing 1 ⅓ frames and allowing no hits. In the process, she earned the 11th save of her career, which tied the all-time program record held by Angela Tincher.
The Hokies have won 14 consecutive games — the most of any power conference team and second-most in the country — dating back to March 9 against Virginia. As much as D’Amour preaches to stay in the present and not look too far ahead or behind, the scoreboard doesn’t lie.
“I think [the winning streak] means a lot,” Mazzarone said. “We don’t try to think about stacking them on top of each other — it’s one pitch at a time, one game at a time. That’s what we should think about.”
Box Score: No. 12 Virginia Tech 12, Charlotte 3