Fresh off a 5-0 start that included two wins over a ranked South Carolina squad, No. 16 Virginia Tech travels to Charlotte this weekend to participate in the Queen City Classic.
The Hokies are scheduled to play two games vs. Villanova and Michigan State and a single game against the host 49ers. Only the game with Charlotte will be televised.
Tech showed a lot of resilience throughout the opening weekend, falling behind by three or more runs in three games but roaring back to win each time. The Hokies are hitting .345 as a team and are averaging 6.4 runs per game. All of their primary starters are hitting over .270, too:
In the circle, head coach Pete D’Amour has held to his preseason comment about using multiple pitchers.
Emma Mazzarone has embraced her role as the ace of the staff with an ERA of 0.88 and eight strikeouts in eight innings while Bree Carrico has given up a single run in 9 ⅔ innings (0.72 ERA) and struck out 13. Avery Layton threw a two-hit shutout vs. Winthrop and Sophie Kleiman has started two games. As a staff, Tech’s limited opposing hitters to a .200 batting average.
“This weekend is another opportunity for us to compete and find out more about our team,” D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “We respect every opponent that we play against and prepare the same for every game. That’s the way we’ve always operated. Practice went well yesterday, we’re excited to get back to playing again.”
Here’s a look at the Hokies’ opponents:
Villanova (0-6)
The preseason fourth-place pick in the Big East, Villanova had a rough start to the season. The Wildcats went winless in six games at the Buzz Classic in Atlanta, which included three run-rule losses, including two to the host Yellow Jackets by identical 8-0 scores, along with a 17-0 defeat to Alabama.
The Wildcats were shut out in their first four games, though they scored seven total runs in their last two outings against East Carolina and Alabama. The current leading hitters are Madison Ostrowski (.267), Maddie Burrows (.250) and Lilly St. Jean (.200). Junior Mackenzie Waghorn, who hit a key grand slam last season against the Hokies in Salem, has only started one game and is 1-for-3.
Villanova returned its two leading pitchers from last season, but both struggled opening weekend. Sophomore Lexi Kobryn (0-3, 7.22 ERA), who recorded the win over Tech in 2025, started two of the first six games, as did senior Kat Gallant (0-2, 7.22 ERA).
On paper, the Hokies are heavily favored, but D’Amour will undoubtedly remind his team of last year’s doubleheader with Villanova at the Moyer Sports Complex in Salem. The Hokies run-ruled the Wildcats 18-2 in Game 1 but lost Game 2 7-6. That setback likely cost them a hosting spot for an NCAA Tournament regional.
Wildcats head coach Bridget Orchard is one of the longest-tenured in college softball. She’s starting her eighth year at Villanova, where she has an overall record of 209-148-1 (.585). Before that, she spent 17 years at Fordham and four years at Division III Cabrini. She has an overall record of 961-568-4 (.628).
Michigan State (4-1)
Michigan State was the surprise team of opening weekend, going 4-1 at the Leadoff Classic in Clearwater, Fla.The Spartans recorded wins against BYU (8-4), Longwood (4-1), Pitt (9-7) and No. 13 Clemson (5-2). Their pitchers stranded 11 Clemson runners and were helped by their defense turning two double plays. However, MSU lost to Auburn 9-6 on Saturday after yielding six unearned runs by committing four errors.
Surprisingly, Michigan State is only hitting .233 as a team, but it’s averaging over six runs a game. Its batters have drawn 18 walks and have been hit by pitches on four occasions, and opponents have helped out by committing 13 errors.
The Spartans are led offensively by senior outfielder Sydney Doloszycki, who is hitting .421. Doloszycki was hitless in the Spartans’ season opener, but has hit .533 (8-for-15) in her last four games.
Freshman Zoie Bernard has been a fixture at the leadoff spot. She has lived up to her top-30 recruiting ranking with a .412 average, three doubles, two triples and three stolen bases. No other Spartan is hitting over .400.
In the circle, sophomore Carsyn Cassady has thrown 8 ⅓ scoreless innings this season, including limiting Clemson to one hit in 3 ⅔ innings. Fellow sophomore Jacey Schuler (1.50 ERA) has started three games and allowed just two earned runs in 9 ⅓ innings.
Sharonda McDonald-Kelley is beginning her fourth season as the head coach at Michigan State. She has led the Spartans to a 50-89 overall record over the last three years. She was previously at Campbell, where she won over 100 games in four seasons.
Charlotte (4-2)
The 49ers are a veteran squad, returning 13 of the 20 players from last year’s team. They started the season 4-2 with wins over Florida Gulf Coast (9-1), Ball State (5-3), Long Island (5-1) and Elon (5-3), with two losses to Southern Illinois (5-2, 7-6).
Jenna Lord, the American Conference Player of the Year in 2025 (.410 average, 21 home runs), has picked up where she left off last season, hitting .421 to open the year and leading the team in runs batted in (15).
South Carolina transfer Audrey Wilson (.357 average) is leading the team in slugging percentage (857).
Brooke Bowling, the 49ers’ ace last season, returned to Charlotte for a fifth year. She led the team in wins (14), strikeouts (100), complete games (6) and innings pitched (145) in 2025.
Sophomore left-hander Aubrey Yarnell primarily works out of the bullpen. She paced Charlotte in ERA last season (4.32). However, she started the third game of the year against Ball State and got the win.
Sophomore Taylor Jones, a transfer from Queens, has started two games this season and leads the team in innings this year. After a rough outing vs. Southern Illinois, she rebounded with 9 ⅔ scoreless innings in her last two outings.
Courtney Breault is beginning her second season as the head coach at Charlotte. She led the 49ers to a third-place conference finish and a 30-27 overall record in 2025 despite losing six players to South Carolina. She was previously an assistant coach at Clemson for five years and at Furman for three.
Here is the tale of the tape:
