Bree Carrico’s third career win was by far her gutsiest.
The right-handed pitcher took the ball with runners on first and second base and trailing by three runs with no outs in the third inning. She surrendered one hit — a double in the sixth inning — and a walk, but otherwise rendered No. 12 Georgia lifeless in No. 20 Virginia Tech’s 9-3 road win on Sunday.
Carrico finished her five innings pitched with no runs allowed and six strikeouts. She needed just 74 pitches to work her way through 17 batters, with three flyouts and six groundouts assisting her.
With two wins over the Bulldogs (13-4), the Hokies (11-2) are now 4-0 against ranked SEC opponents this season. Tech trailed by at least three runs in three of those games, but it managed to win all of them.
“We had a good showing against a super regional/[Women’s College World Series] team this weekend and proved that we belong in that conversation, too,” Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline. “Like I told the team last night, there are peaks and valleys in every season.”
Avery Layton started the game in the circle for Tech and gave up all three of Georgia’s runs. Those came via four hits and four walks, though Layton struck out two batters in two-plus frames.
“The pitchers did their job all weekend,” D’Amour said. “They came in, let our defense work and held our opponents down long enough for our offense to get to work.”
Which brings us to the offense. Hokies designated player Kylie Aldridge and center fielder Addison Foster both drove in two runs. Tech’s two home runs came from Foster and left fielder Nora Abromavage.
Georgia tallied the first three runs of the game to mount a lead off Layton. Bulldogs catcher Sarah Gordon doubled around center fielder Delani Sullivan in the first inning. Two frames later during Gordon’s next at-bat, she smacked a pitch over the right-center field fence, scoring two more.
Carrico quieted the Bulldogs after that. In the interim, Tech third baseman Jordan Lynch plated Abromavage with a fourth-inning double to make the score 3-1. Foster slammed a home run to tie the game at three.
Pinch runner Lily Pallante crossed home plate for a 4-3 advantage after a single from first baseman Michelle Chatfield, which opened the floodgates. Aldridge singled around shortstop Annika Rohs for a 5-3 lead. Abromavage blasted a solo homer. Right fielder Gaby Mizelle grounded out but Lynch scored. Then, for good measure, Rohs and Aldridge knocked singles to build the decisive six-run lead.
“Offensively, we’re realizing the value of getting good pitches to hit and hitting balls hard,” D’Amour said. “We hit a lot of rockets this weekend.”
Randi Roelling tossed the first four innings for Georgia and allowed eight hits and five runs — all earned. She struck out five batters and walked none. Ada Little, a day after Tech tagged her for five runs, allowed another four in a third of an inning. Destin Howard finished the final 2 ⅔ frames of scoreless ball.
D’Amour schedules hard opponents to start every season. He joked before the year that the Hokies are another SEC team since they play so many teams in the country’s best softball conference. Part of that is to boost Tech’s RPI status, a computer metric that weighs record and strength of schedule. Another reason is to simulate postseason environments and stack the team against top-level competition.
Because of that, the Hokies face Georgia frequently. This season marked the third time during D’Amour’s eight-year tenure where Tech traveled to Athens, Ga., before ACC play, plus an NCAA Tournament trip sprinkled in. This weekend is the first time Virginia Tech beat Georgia twice in a season. Plus, the Hokies had never defeated the Bulldogs by more than one run under D’Amour — until two six-run wins on Saturday and Sunday.
Contrast that against how last weekend progressed. Tech dropped two games to Michigan State and Charlotte, a weekend in which D’Amour admitted the team was shorthanded. Now, a week later, the Hokies escaped from a second SEC ballpark of the season unscathed.
As D’Amour said, peaks and valleys are a part of the season. In the meantime, Virginia Tech will trek south again next weekend to Alabama for five games against Auburn, Troy and USC Upstate.
“I challenged the team that when the valleys come, remember that nobody has to do it by themselves, and to go back to this weekend,” D’Amour said. “It’s time to get better Tuesday.”
Box Score: No. 20 Virginia Tech 9, No. 12 Georgia 3