Virginia Tech softball split a two-game set in North Carolina on Saturday with a morning win over Villanova and an afternoon loss to Charlotte.
The No. 16 Hokies (7-2) went 2-2 across four games in Charlotte over two days. They defeated Villanova twice, then dropped contests to Michigan State and Charlotte. Tech’s originally scheduled rematch with Michigan State on Sunday was canceled due to anticipated rainy conditions.
“We had opportunities to win both games that we lost,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “We didn’t play clean for seven innings against good teams, and you have to stay focused every pitch in a game where a couple of plays can determine the outcome. … All in all, we’ve learned the last two weeks that we have the ability to be a very good team, but we have to sharpen up our defense, find a way to fight through adversity and keep getting better.”
D’Amour also said Virginia Tech had fewer players available in North Carolina then the week prior.
“We may or may not have managed games differently had we had been [at] full strength this weekend,” D’Amour said.
During both games the Hokies dropped in North Carolina, they committed two errors. In the final game against Charlotte, 49ers center fielder Olivia Williams reached on a fielding error by first baseman Michelle Chatfield with two outs. One batter later, pitcher Emma Mazzarone’s wild pitch allowed first baseman Savanna Nguyen to score, a decisive run in a game decided by one.
“The errors happened for a couple of reasons,” D’Amour said. “I think we’d admit that we should have made most of those plays. We should be able to get outside this week and get more reps.”
Game 1: Virginia Tech 11, Villanova 3 (5 innings)Virginia Tech faced Villanova twice a year ago in Salem — an 18-2 rout and a 7-6 defeat just hours later. The latter game was one of three Quadrant 4 losses the Hokies sustained, contributing to them barely failing to qualify for a top-16 seed and traveling to Alabama for the regional round.
Tech saw the Wildcats twice again this season and swept both games. It trailed by two runs at Sue M. Daughtridge Stadium on Saturday, then pushed through for an 11-3 run-rule victory.
The second inning brought two runs for Villanova (0-9), then three more for the Hokies. In the top of the frame, ‘Nova left fielder Elizabeth Gray singled to score designated player Ava Mahnken. Third baseman Maddie Burrows stepped up one batter later and knocked a base hit, scoring right fielder Aubrey Police.
When Tech finally hit, right fielder Kylie Aldridge crossed home plate via a groundout from Mazzarone. Then second baseman Gaby Mizelle sent a two-run homer over the left-field fence.
The Wildcats snatched another run to tie the game at three when second baseman Lilly St. Jean went around the bases after Mahnken grounded out to second, but that turned out to be the last time her team reached the scoreboard. Hokies catcher Zoe Yaeger homered to score herself and third baseman Jordan Lynch in the bottom of the third for a 5-3 lead before the floodgates opened.
“It’s nice when you have Coach Mike on the side calling pitches,” Yaeger told Tech Sideline about the homer. “… [I was] just waiting for mine, and then trying to get on top of it and hit a line drive — and it ended up going out.”
Yaeger’s three home runs this season are tied with left fielder Nora Abromavage for the most on the team.
“I changed my stance a little bit in the fall, but my swing is pretty much the same,” she said. “I think I’m just being more aggressive this year.”
The Hokies scored their final six runs and obtained their last five hits in the fifth inning, securing a run-rule win. Chatfield singled around Lynch, then Abromavage doubled around pinch runners Lyla Blackwell and Jordan Bishop to build an 8-3 lead. Mazzarone and Mizelle knocked back-to-back RBI singles, then center fielder Addison Foster reached on an error, and pinch runner Lily Pallante touched home to end the game.
Mizelle led her team with three RBI across two hits and a run. Lynch and Chatfield both added two knocks of their own, while Annika Rohs grabbed a hit and drew two walks. Yaeger and Mizelle hit Tech’s two longballs, plus Lynch added two doubles and Abromavage smacked one.
Bree Carrico went the distance in the circle for Tech, allowing four hits and three runs, though only one run was earned. She struck out six batters, walked one and — crucially — kept all 93 of her pitches in the yard.
Lexi Kobryn tossed Villanova’s first four-plus frames, then Maranda Runco and Sophia Mount took the circle for the fifth and failed to obtain an out. Kobryn surrendered seven earned runs across two longballs, while Runco was tagged with the final four times the Hokies scored.
Game 2: Charlotte 4, Virginia Tech 2The Hokies failed to score off the first 108 pitches they saw from Charlotte arm Taylor Jones. None of the two runs Jones surrendered were earned, but a two-RBI double by Abromavage in the sixth inning narrowed Virginia Tech’s deficit to one run. Still, it wasn’t enough to prevent the away team from sustaining an upside.
That’s because Jones dealt. She went all seven innings and quieted a typically dominant Hokies offense to four hits and two runs. She walked four batters and only struck out three, but was effective nonetheless. Of her 138 pitches, 76 were strikes. And aside from the sixth-inning blip, Jones was lethal.
Chatfield was the only Hokies hitter to notch two knocks, though Lynch and Abromavage both reached base twice via a hit and a walk. Tech hit just 1-for-12 with runners on base, including 1-for-9 with anyone in scoring position — Abromavage’s aforementioned bases-loaded double.
Mazzarone took the circle and, just like her Charlotte (7-2) counterpart, also tossed the distance. The lefty allowed six hits and four runs. Her five walks were a tad erratic, though she struck out 10 batters, tying a career high.
But the 49ers notched enough offense to win. Though Mazzarone held them scoreless through three innings, a wild pitch in the fourth scored Nguyen. Then right fielder London Dirks doubled down the left field line in the fifth to bring around pinch runner Chloe Aldrich and third baseman Jenna Lord to build a three-run advantage.
Abromavage’s double cut Charlotte’s lead to one, but 49ers second baseman Jaylah Jarrell homered in the bottom of the frame, marking the last run of the day.