Virginia Tech softball head coach Pete D’Amour read a book during the offseason. That isn’t especially noteworthy, but the book he referenced — though he forgot the title — centered around Major League Baseball managers.
“It was a lot of stuff about culture, but what I got out of it was in-game decisions,” he said during the Hokies’ annual media day on Friday. “You think about [Los Angeles Dodgers manager] Dave Roberts sitting in the dugout, and what does he do during the game? Everybody said pinch hit and shift — but he doesn’t do any of that. He manages the bullpen. So, when you give the ball to Clayton Kershaw, you’re not saying, ‘Clayton, get me nine.’ It doesn’t happen.
“To me, I was really focused on what are the strengths of our pitchers? Who do we get out? When do we start this kid? When do we bring them in? That’s been the mindset for me.”
The No. 21 Hokies will enter the 2026 season with six arms: junior Emma Mazzarone, senior Sophie Kleiman, senior Cassie Grizzard, sophomore Bree Carrico, freshman Avery Layton and freshman Addyson Fisher. D’Amour didn’t obtain any pitchers through the transfer portal, as he did in each of the past two seasons, but Tech returned three arms — Mazzarone, Kleiman and Grizzard — from last year.
Mazzarone threw the second-most innings in 2025, behind alumna and current graduate assistant Emma Lemley. In her 92 ⅔ frames, the lefty notched an 11-3 record with a 3.32 earned run average, while adding 95 strikeouts and 61 walks. She hits, too; in 69 career at-bats, Mazzarone has tallied five home runs and 16 RBIs and accrued a .209 batting average.
“She’s in a better headspace,” D’Amour said. “I think she knows what her role is capable of — getting the ball more, if needed. She’s been able to compartmentalize the offensive and defensive part of practice. She’s swinging the bat as well as anybody on our team. … I think she’s wanted to hit a lot; we just hadn’t had the need for her to hit so much the past couple of years, but she’s gonna hit this year.”
Kleiman, who transferred from Indiana ahead of the 2025 campaign, appeared in 23 games, earning a 12-2 record with a 2.45 earned run average. She tallied 66 strikeouts and allowed just one home run, finishing with the ACC’s fifth-best ERA.
“There are a lot of innings to be thrown around, and we’ll see who gets the ball the most,” D’Amour said. “In a perfect world, nobody is shouldering the load all themself.”
Tech will return seven players who spent considerable time in its starting lineup last season: Michelle Chatfield, Annika Rohs, Rachel Castine, Jordan Lynch, Kylie Aldridge, Zoe Yaeger and Lyla Blackwell. D’Amour also said Nora Abromavage and Sara McNelly, who mostly saw the field through pinch-hit appearances in 2025, could receive additional playing time.
As a freshman, Lynch finished third on the team with a .381 batting average, while she knocked 10 home runs and her 18 doubles tied the program’s single-season record. The Rising Sun, Md., native earned an All-ACC Third Team nod and the National Fastpitch Coaches Association named her one of the country’s top-25 freshmen. Now as a sophomore, Lynch is preparing to assume a larger role.
“I would say I’ve grown a lot,” Lynch said. “I think last year going in, I was super nervous and putting a lot of pressure on myself. Now, I just go play free, and that’s what helps me.”
The team added three transfers — Addison Foster from Stetson, Bre Warren from South Carolina and Haley Luginbill from UMBC — to go with seven freshmen.
“You look at the transfers that potentially come in and they’re going to be good players,” D’Amour said. “[The question is] do they fit the culture of our program? That’s everybody. Every team, you have to see if those players, obviously that they can play here, but do they fit here. All three of them do.”
The newcomers will have to fill a void, as is the case every year. Tech graduated Lemley, Cori McMillan and Bre Peck, all of whom have since signed professional contracts. Lemley was a stable presence in the circle who finished her career with five no-hitters and the fourth-most strikeouts in program history. McMillan knocked an ACC-record 30 homers in 2025. Peck is the program’s all-time home run leader, while she played everywhere on the diamond.
“The train keeps rolling. It’s hopefully the kids that have been here — it’s their time now,” D’Amour said. “Every coach goes through it. I’m sure years ago, Coach [Frank] Beamer got asked what he could do without Michael Vick. Well, be thankful you had Michael Vick and, OK, who’s next? And let’s see if we can do it again.”
The good news for D’Amour and Co. is the three aforementioned graduates didn’t go far. Lemley is a graduate assistant, Peck is volunteering while finishing her degree and McMillan — though she is currently playing professional softball in Mexico — spent the fall assisting. Lemley, in her offseason between seasons with the Carolina Blaze, tossed live batting practice.
“Having Lem throw live has been good, seeing a pitcher from the [Athletes Unlimited Softball League],” Mazzarone said. “Hopefully, we won’t face many girls that throw like Lem does.”
Though they can utilize her in practice and with off-the-field expertise, Tech won’t have Lemley in the circle. That requires D’Amour to change how he utilizes his team’s pitching staff, which brings us back to the book.
“The whole object is to shorten games,” D’Amour said. “So, if somebody goes through the lineup one time and that’s three innings, all right, we’ve got to win four now. That’s what’s going through my mind.
“We’ll see if I have the guts to do it.”