Emma Mazzarone is an escape artist.
Virginia Tech’s left-handed pitcher was facing a No. 14 South Carolina team that had seen her just two days prior. She allowed batters to reach base leading off two of her four frames. She walked five batters, hit one with a pitch and allowed six runners to reach scoring position.
Of her 97 pitches in relief, only 47 were strikes. Let’s add three wild pitches. Consider all that information, then ask yourself whether or not she held the Gamecocks scoreless across four innings on Saturday. Probably not, right?
Think again.
The junior took the ball with one out in the second inning, then held the circle through the first out of the sixth. She allowed two hits and the aforementioned free passes, but she persevered, stranding eight runners and allowing none of them to cross home plate.
The junior kept South Carolina at bay as the No. 21 Hokies roared to life and prevailed 8-5 in a two-hour, 51-minute game to cap off the season-opening weekend with a 5-0 record.
Tech secured four wins over two NCAA Tournament teams during the Gamecock Invitational — including Saturday’s doubleheader.
“It feels good to be 5-0 but it’s just the first weekend,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “I don’t think anyone’s seen our best yet.”
Game 1: Virginia Tech 11, Binghamton 3 (6 innings)
Tech surrendered two RBI singles in the third frame and the Bearcats (1-3) mounted a three-run advantage. Then the Hokies’ bats came alive with four runs in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth and a final five runs in the sixth.
The win marked Virginia Tech’s first run-rule victory of the season.
In the fourth, left fielder Nora Abromavage slammed a two-run homer down the left-field line, scoring herself and third baseman Jordan Lynch. Center fielder Addison Foster singled around shortstop Annika Rohs, then designated player Zoe Yaeger brought home Foster. That flipped a three-run hole into a 4-3 advantage.
Rohs knocked a full-count pitch into left field for a single in the fifth, scoring Lynch. Then Foster’s single scored Abromavage — and the Hokies led by three.
Abromavage’s second homer of the day was a grand slam in the sixth inning. For good measure, pinch hitter Haley Luginbill, a transfer from UMBC in her first Virginia Tech at-bat, knocked a solo homer over the left-field fence to end the game.
Abromavage drove in six of the Hokies’ 11 runs, across a 3-for-4 afternoon at the plate while scoring three runs herself. Lynch finished with a perfect 4-for-4 rate — all singles. Foster, Yaeger and Rohs all added two hits of their own.
Just hours after tossing a two-hit shutout against Winthrop, freshman pitcher Avery Layton started for Tech. She lasted three frames and gave up five hits, three runs and a walk while accruing five strikeouts. Sophomore Bree Carrico went the last three innings and shut out the Bearcats and surrendered a hit.
Game 2: Virginia Tech 8, South Carolina 5
Sophie Kleiman started in the circle for the Hokies and went exactly one time through the order. In the first inning, Gamecocks third baseman Tate Davis doubled down the left field line, bringing around left fielder Lily Lilio. Then right fielder Kai Byars blasted a three-run shot to build a 4-0 lead.
In Tech’s largest hole of the new season, Yaeger took the plate in the top of the third. She sent a 2-2 pitch deep into the February sky, over the left-field fence. First baseman Michelle Chatfield homered on the next pitch. Mazzarone — also occupying the designated player position — singled four batters later, bringing around second baseman Gaby Mizelle and right fielder Kylie Aldridge to go up 5-4.
In the fifth, Foster scored Mizelle and Abromavage with a single. The Gamecocks began to claw back in the sixth with an RBI double, pulling within 7-5, but Rohs nicked an RBI double of her own, plating pinch hitter Lily Pallante to add some extra cushion at 8-5.
Foster led with three hits, while Chatfield and Mizelle both added two. Foster, Yaeger and Mazzarone all drove in two runs. Their efforts culminated in a second win against South Carolina (1-2) this season.
The Hokies were far from flawless, but their 7-for-20 hitting rate with runners on base — including 2-of-9 with at least one in scoring position — was effective enough. The Gamecocks’ 4-for-18 clip with runners on base, including 2-for-12 with them in scoring position, was not.
“I was pleased that our at-bats got continually better as the weekend went on and I was really impressed with our pitching,” D’Amour said. “Nobody seemed rattled and we were able to mix and match as much as I can remember. We had a ton of contributors offensively and defensively too. All of our players were ready for whatever crazy idea we came up with.”
Following Kleiman and Mazzarone, Carrico took the circle for her second appearance of the day. The sophomore earned her first career save in 1 ⅔ innings of work, during which she allowed two hits and one run while obtaining five strikeouts.
“I just trust my team so much, so I know that they have my back at all times,” Carrico said.
This weekend was the first test for a Virginia Tech squad with aspirations to contend in the ACC and advance deep into the NCAA Tournament. The Hokies ran the table against two NCAA Tournament squads from last year.
Next comes a weekend in Charlotte, N.C., with games against Villanova, Michigan State and Charlotte — followed by more SEC teams the following week.
“We have a lot of talent this year and we’ve continually improved,” D’Amour said. “We don’t go into weekends thinking, ‘Go 5-0.’ The two thoughts we have going into games are ‘play pitch-to-pitch’ and “always stay neutral to positive.
“We did a good job playing pitch-to-pitch on both sides of the ball all weekend. If you have a bad at-bat, so what? If you throw a bad pitch, so what? If the umpire makes a call you don’t agree with, so what? Off to the next one.”