Cori McMillan is unstoppable. Inevitable. Unreal. Insane. Pick your adjective, and it describes Virginia Tech softball’s right fielder.
The Radford transfer nuked two home runs for the No. 15 Hokies in their 8-6 win over No. 9 Florida State on Sunday. The first came in the third frame with Tech (40-10, 18-6 ACC) down by two to cut the deficit in half. The second was in the fifth to build a 5-4 lead, which her team never surrendered.
Plus, she’s a motivational speaker.
After the Hokies dropped the first two games this weekend to the Seminoles (44-8, 18-3), McMillan spoke in the team’s lunchroom before the series finale.
“I just told everyone: ‘We all love each other,’” said McMillan, who leads the country with 29 home runs this season. “‘We all trust each other. All year, we’ve preached how good we know we are. We know we can win any game we’re put into. We know that everyone can do any task they’re put to.’
“We just all had to remember that, so to have that reminder before the game, I think really flipped a switch for us.”
Indeed. Just like in the first two games of the series, Florida State snatched a lead in the first inning. But unlike the first two, Tech resuscitated its offence.
In the bottom of the second, center fielder Bre Peck knocked a two-run homer to chip into a 3-0 deficit. Peck’s home run marked the first time a Virginia Tech player aside from McMillan or first baseman Michelle Chatfield has cleared the fence since the team blasted 11 against Pitt on April 18.
The third frame brought McMillan’s first bomb. The fourth contained an RBI double courtesy of third baseman Jordan Lynch, which brought around Peck. In the fifth, McMillan slammed her second bomb and catcher Zoe Yaeger hit another for good measure, generating a 7-4 lead for the home team.
Florida State shortstop Isa Torres — playing from behind for the first time all weekend — limited her team’s deficit in the sixth. With the bases loaded and two outs, she singled to left field, scoring first baseman Angelee Bueno and designated player Amaya Ross.
The Seminoles would have tied the game if not for heroics from shortstop Annika Rohs. Right after the RBI knock from Torres, FSU outfielder Jahni Kerr nicked a grounder up the middle, prompting Rohs to extend and grab the ball while stepping on second base for a force out, ending the frame.
“That play really determined the game, maybe. It’s the difference between whether we’re going into the bottom of the sixth with a tied game or we have a little bit of leeway and can relax a little bit with that one run,” pitcher Emma Lemley said. “That’s just good softball IQ to try to stay on that base as long as she can. That’s Ani, that’s what Ani does — she makes those hard plays and she makes them look easy.”
T6 | What a play by Anni ⚡️#Hokies? pic.twitter.com/7RZEQgoo6C
— Virginia Tech Softball (@HokiesSoftball) May 4, 2025
Yaeger supplied more of a cushion in the bottom of the sixth. She sent an 0-2 pitch with two outs up the middle, leading to McMillan’s third run of the day.
Emma Mazzarone began the game in the circle for Tech, tossing the first six frames. She surrendered six hits and six runs — all earned — and kept her team in the game. The sixth inning was her highest leverage frame of the season, and it was not without its bumps; she loaded the bases via two walks and a hit by pitch with one out. Mazzarone then struck out Widra for the second out. Following Torres’ hit, she induced the grounder to Rohs to escape without further damage.
Lemley came in for the final inning and found three outs. She forced a popup to Yaeger, struck out Dack, then walked catcher Michaela Edenfield following a full-count, seven-pitch at bat, bringing the tying run to the plate. It took another six pitches to strike out designated player Amaya Ross looking, but a six-pitch strikeout counts the same as a three-pitch one.
“I think [the mindset was] just to keep my cool, just to stay calm,” Lemley said. “I was in that exact situation when we played Stanford a few weeks ago here. The energy in that stadium is crazy from Hokie Nation, so I just kind of tried to let that energy carry me through the seventh inning and try to stay as calm as possible.”
The Hokies played much of the game without Michelle Chatfield, who has the second-most home runs on the team with 15. Two batters into the game, a throw to first base injured her left wrist and forced her to leave the game. Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said she is “OK” and said he expects to have her available for the ACC Tournament later this week.
Tech earned its 40th win on Sunday, the fifth season in D’Amour’s tenure in Blacksburg that the Hokies reached the milestone.
“Forty wins is the baseline for having a good season,” D’Amour said. “We’ve been consistent; we’ve been top-15, top-20 since we’ve been here, and we’re putting another good year together.”
Not to mention the win over Florida State avoided a sweep. Plus, a win over a top-10 team will boost the Hokies’ résumé entering postseason play, as they straddle the bubble to earn a top-16 seed to host a regional in the NCAA Tournament.
“[Florida State is] as good as anybody,” D’Amour said. “And we beat them today, so that tells us we’re pretty good, too.”
After completing her postgame media obligations, McMillan exited the home dugout to numerous fans — children and their parents — holding softballs for her to sign and waiting to take pictures with her. Sunday’s game marked her final regular season home game and potentially the last contest she will play at Tech Softball Park, depending on if Virginia Tech hosts postseason contests. She walked through the gate, knelt down and started signing.
More softball is in McMillan’s future. She — along with Lemley — will play in the Athletes Unlimited Softball League’s inaugural season this summer. In the meantime, her college campaign is far from over.
“I’m in no rush,” she told the fans before picking up a pen.
Box Score: No. 15 Virginia Tech 8, No. 9 Florida State 6
