SALEM — Jordan Bishop entered Virginia Tech as a utility player, though she made her first start at catcher during the No. 11 Hokies’ 11-1 run-rule win over Bryant on Sunday.
The freshman’s first career start came on Feb. 7 in right field against Binghamton. Her second came on Sunday, during which she spent the whole game behind the dish. Plus, she slammed two home runs.
The first bomb came with the Hokies (21-2) ahead 1-0 in the top of the second inning, when she sent a 3-2 pitch straightaway over the center-field fence.
“I was just excited,” Bishop said, “and ready to celebrate with my teammates.”
The second was a frame later with another solo shot to left-center.
“[Bishop is] swinging hard, and that’s the thing with our team: we’re really deep,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “She hadn’t had many opportunities because we are so deep, and she got her chances and went with it.”
Bishop spent the whole game behind the plate and caught three arms she frequently encounters in practice: Avery Layton, Addyson Fisher and Cassie Grizzard. D’Amour began using Bishop as a catching option in January, after fall ball, and she has become someone who can back up typical catchers Zoe Yaeger and Kylie Aldridge.
“It’s a big learning curve,” D’Amour said. “… She’s still figuring it out and learning, and did a good job out there.”
Tech hitters supplemented Bishop’s efforts. Designated player Emma Mazzarone homered right before Bishop in the second inning to open the scoring. Later in the second, left fielder Nora Abromavage drew an RBI walk and right fielder Gaby Mizelle plated third baseman Jordan Lynch and first baseman Michelle Chatfield with a double.
The Hokies’ final runs came in the fifth. Chatfield tripled in two more runs, then scored off a single from center fielder Addison Foster. Lynch homered in two more runs for good measure, building the decisive 10-run lead.
After failing to knock a long ball during the first game of the Hokie Invite against Michigan, Tech combined to hit 13 home runs across the ensuing four games.
“We’re known for hitting balls hard, and we got some balls in the air and were swinging at good pitches,” D’Amour said.
Tech pitched by committee. Layton made her third appearance of the weekend — which D’Amour said was a priority — and went the first two innings, allowing one run and two hits. Fisher spent time in the circle for the first time since Feb. 28 and tossed two frames of one-hit, shutout ball. And Grizzard took the ball for her inaugural stint of the season with a quick inning.
Eight of the nine hitters in Virginia Tech’s starting lineup finished with at least one hit, contributing to the team’s 12-for-26 clip. Six of them also scored runs. Situationally, the Hokies hit 5-for-11 with runners on base, including 3-for-7 with them in scoring position. The four home runs helped, too.
Tech’s contest against the Bulldogs (7-11) was its fifth in under four days. The Hokies played a doubleheader on Saturday that ended just over 12 hours before the finale began — factoring in the start of daylight saving time, meaning everyone lost an hour. The team trekked to Blacksburg and back, but didn’t take batting practice as it typically does.
“We just got on the bus, came here, stretched and played,” D’Amour said.
It worked. Virginia Tech has won 14 consecutive wins and its 21-2 start marks the team’s best start in program history. A midweek contest at Elon awaits on Wednesday. Then the Hokies will remain in North Carolina to face No. 25 Duke.
Ahead of ACC play, D’Amour said the team doesn’t require any substantial improvements; rather, it needs to work to sustain the success it has built.
“It’s maintaining what we’ve got,” D’Amour said. “Teams at the end of the year that are successful, they don’t lose what they do. Everybody is going to go down, [the focus is] who goes down the last.”