Jordan Lynch and the Hokies got off to a good start but couldn't hold off Michigan State on Friday. (Virginia Tech athletics)

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — One disastrous inning put an end to an undefeated start for the No. 16 Hokies on Friday at the Queen City Classic.

An inning that featured two walks, two errors, a wild pitch and a two-run single by a batter that was 0-for-17 on the season was too much for Virginia Tech to overcome as it fell to Michigan State 7-6.

The loss moves the Hokies, who defeated Villanova earlier in the day, to 6-1 on the year. It marked the Spartans’ second win over a ranked ACC opponent in a week after they beat No. 13 Clemson 5-2 on Sunday. They’re now 5-2.

“It seems that we had a lapse in focus for one inning today and it cost us the second game,” Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “I think there were instances where we started thinking about things other than ‘next pitch.’”

The Hokies jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead on the Spartans behind RBI singles from Jordan Lynch and Nora Abromavage in the first inning and a solo home run by Rachel Castine in the second. It was Castine’s first of the season. But disaster struck in the bottom of the second.

Virginia Tech starting pitcher Sophie Kleiman ran into trouble with two walks and an error, loading the bases. Michigan State catcher Kirsten Caravaca, who was 0-for-17 so far this year, drove in two runs with a single.

A double by Kendall Smiley, who was hitting .188, plated two more runs, and after another error from the Hokies, D’Amour replaced Kleiman with Bree Carrico. A groundout and a scored three more runs for the Spartans and proved to be too much for Tech to overcome.

However, the Hokies did not go quietly. Jordan Lynch blasted her first homer of the season in the fourth inning and Kylie Aldridge drove in Lynch in the sixth. Yet, they left 10 runners on base, negating their 13-7 advantage in base hits.

Carrico ended up giving up a single run over the five innings she pitched, striking out six. For the season, she has an ERA of 0.95 with 19 strikeouts in 14 ⅔ innings.

Game One: Virginia Tech 7, Villanova 2

In the first game of the day, Emma Mazzarone held Villanova hitless through four innings, striking out eight as the Hokies defeated the Wildcats 7-2. Mazzarone now has an ERA of 0.58 for the season with 16 strikeouts in 12 innings.

Abromavage got the Hokies on the board in the second inning with a two-run home run, her team-leading third of the year. Zoe Yaeger doubled in Addison Foster in the third inning and then blasted a three-run home run in the fifth, giving her four RBI on the day. Gaby Mizelle rounded things out with an RBI single in the fifth that scored Aldridge.

Freshman Addison Fisher relieved Mazzarone in the fifth and finished the game, giving up three hits and three runs in three innings, while striking out four.

The Hokies will continue play in Charlotte on Saturday with a 10 a.m. ET rematch with Villanova and a 3 p.m. ET contest with the host 49ers. That game is scheduled to be shown on ESPN+.

D’Amour still feels good about his team.

“The message after the game was that we’re seven games into the season, we’ve been playing well, we’re still learning and figuring out things,” D’Amour said. “Can we recognize competing thoughts sooner and get back on track tomorrow?”