No. 20 Virginia Tech travels to Athens this weekend to participate in the Georgia Classic.
The Hokies (7-2) are scheduled to play two games vs. Seton Hall and the host Bulldogs and a single game against Utah State. At this point, only the two games with No. 12 Georgia will be televised. Here is the schedule:
After an undefeated opening weekend in South Carolina, the Hokies stumbled in Charlotte last weekend, recording a pair of wins over Villanova but losing to Michigan State (7-6) and the host 49ers (4-2). Tech’s bats remained hot, however, averaging 6.4 runs per game with a team batting average of .335.
It currently has eight starters hitting over .300 and has 14 home runs from 10 different players.
Through nine games, Bree Carrico, Emma Mazzarone and Avery Layton appear to be three options for the Hokies in the circle.
Layton, who threw the team’s only shutout, was unavailable last weekend because of the flu. However, the Hokies still have a team ERA under three and are averaging over a strikeout per inning (1.28). Tech has an average of 0.7 free passes (walks and hit by pitch) per inning, though.
“We’re looking forward to playing again after two good days of practice,” Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “The weather looks good. We need to go down there and play pitch to pitch regardless of who we’re playing and we’ll have a good weekend.”
Seton Hall
The Hokies will open their Georgia trip with a game against the Pirates, who were off last weekend.
They opened their season with a 1-3 record at a tournament at Stetson on Feb. 6 and 7, where they beat Indiana State 3-1 before dropping games to the host Hatters (12-2), UT Martin (7-6) and a rematch with the Sycamores (7-3).
Seton Hall was picked fourth in the Big East preseason poll. Last year, it averaged over six runs per game but graduated four of its top five hitters. Andrea Perez, the only returner, went 1-for-10 throughout opening weekend.
A pair of outfielders, junior Katey Brennan and sophomore Angelina Benitez, lead the Pirates in hitting with .417 averages (5-for-12).
All four Seton Hall pitchers started a game on opening weekend. Senior Kyra Kreuscher, an All-Big East selection last season, was the most effective with a 0.88 ERA and nine strikeouts in eight innings.
Angie Churchill is beginning her fifth season as the head coach at Seton Hall and has an overall record of 119-90 (.569). Under her leadership, the Pirates won the Big East title in 2023 and earned an NCAA bid.
Churchill has 15 years of head-coaching experience and started her career at Division II D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y., before moving to Wagner, Hartford and then Seton Hall.
Georgia
Georgia (10-2) is coming off an excellent week at the Clearwater Invitational, where it went 5-1 with wins over Nebraska (6-5), NC State (16-2), UCF (13-5), Northwestern (8-3) and Duke (9-1). The Bulldogs lost to Oklahoma State 6-5 after falling behind 6-0. Their other loss occurred on opening weekend, when they lost 2-1 to Belmont and Maya Johnson.
Senior utility player Sarah Gordon was named Softball America’s National Player of the Week after going 12-for-18 in Clearwater with six doubles, a triple and two home runs. She drove in 10 runs during the tournament and leads the Bulldogs in hitting with a .625 average and a .684 on-base percentage.
Gordon had plenty of help in Florida from graduate transfer Keirstin Roose, a Coastal Carolina transfer who hit three home runs and has a hit in every game this season. Wednesday night, she blasted two home runs against Samford and now leads the Bulldogs in home runs with six.
Junior infielder Emily Digby, who was a top-15 recruit in the class of 2023, is hitting a blistering .591 with an on-base percentage of .679.
In addition to five starters hitting .314 or better, the Bulldogs have depth, with eight additional players at .250 or above.
Widely heralded sophomore transfer Addisen Fisher heads up the Bulldogs’ pitching staff. The top-ranked recruit in the class of 2023 by Softball America and Extra Innings, she signed with UCLA out of high school, where she was 16-2 with a 2.59 ERA last season. After transferring to Georgia, she is 6-0 with four starts and an ERA of 1.66 to go with 18 strikeouts in 25 ⅓ innings.
Junior left-hander Randi Roelling has also started four games and is 3-1 with a 2.26 ERA and 19 strikeouts in 21 ⅔ innings. Last season, she led the team in innings (154 ⅔) and starts (25), going 11-9 with a 3.53 ERA.
The Bulldogs are also solid defensively, having committed only four errors this season. They have a fielding percentage of .987 and have also turned six double plays.
Tony Baldwin is in his sixth season as Georgia’s head coach. He has a record of 173-77 (.692) and has taken the program to three consecutive NCAA super regionals. He was promoted in 2021 after spending the previous nine years as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs.
Utah State
Utah State was picked fifth in the Mountain West preseason poll. The Aggies started the season 7-3, sweeping Abilene Christian (8-0, 4-2), splitting two games with Hawaii (5-1, 16-8) and recording wins over Bryant (5-1), Providence (3-1), St. Francis (5-4) and Cal State Bakersfield (7-2). In addition to the loss to Hawaii, the Aggies lost to Loyola Marymount and then-No. 1 Texas A&M (9-1).
Utah State set numerous school records last season, including batting average, hits, runs, home runs and slugging percentage. It was No. 15 in the country in batting average, too, at .341. However, five of its top six hitters either graduated or transferred. They have been replaced with two transfers and eight freshmen.
Nevertheless, the Aggies are hitting .319 as a team this season, led by senior Alex Bunton (.516 average) and sophomore Faith Kroening (.455 average). Freshmen Jazmin Ramirez and Kate Vance were high school teammates and are hitting .346 and .303, respectively.
The pitching staff is anchored by a pair of seniors in Emmalyn Brinka (3-2, 2.76 ERA) and Rylie Pindel (2-1, 3.82 ERA). They’ve each started four of the Aggies’ 10 games. The other two starts have gone to highly-touted freshman Kendall Cochran (2-0, 1.66 ERA). Cochran was ranked as the No. 3 pitcher in the class of 2025 by Extra Innings Softball.
Utah State is coached by Todd Judge, who is entering his third season and holds a record of 55-57 (.491). A victory last season over No. 19 Baylor was the Aggies’ first win over a ranked opponent since 2010.
Below is the tale of the tape for the Georgia Classic:
