Something about Sundays brings out the weirdest elements of softball games.
Part of that is because the two teams have seen each other twice already and are trying to maintain a competitive advantage over a squad with whom they are already familiar. Part of it is purely anecdotal; Sunday games always happen to be the ones that go three hours long, feature a rain delay or have controversial umpiring.
That is not entirely rational, and there is absolutely no science or analytics behind that claim, but Sunday’s series finale between No. 14 Virginia Tech and NC State at Tech Softball Park had some weird elements. The Wolfpack (19-13, 1-5 ACC) hit a Little League home run, though the Hokies (28-4, 4-2 ACC) persevered for a 2-1 win.
Wolfpack center fielder Maia Townsend nicked a ground ball just past third base in the top of the third inning and ran past second to third base when Tech left fielder Nora Abromavage airmailed the cutoff. Hokies first baseman Michelle Chatfield tracked down the ball in right field and threw home, but her throw was off target enough for Townsend to run home.
“Just didn’t play catch,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour said. “Play catch and it’s a single.”
The Hokies persevered. After the two teams traded zeroes for three innings, the home side found a run in the seventh to end the game. Second baseman Rachel Castine singled, then D’Amour pinch ran Sara McNelly for her.
Shortstop Annika Rohs bunted McNelly to second base, then center fielder Addison Foster grounded out to first and moved McNelly to third. Third baseman Jordan Lynch drew a five-pitch walk, bringing up Chatfield with two outs.
“[NC State pitcher Wynne Gore] hadn’t thrown a lot of first-pitch strikes,” Chatfield said. “... We were over top of her drop all day, so we were trying to see it up and be aggressive to a good pitch.”
It worked. Chatfield found a low dropball on a 2-0 count and grounded it onto the outfield grass. McNelly rounded home to secure Tech’s first ACC sweep of the season.
“It was a little low, but I was definitely eager to hit it,” Chatfield said. “I was trying to hit it hard — because when you hit it hard, good things happen.”
Tech was in a position to win thanks to a second-inning homer from Abromavage. The sophomore slammed a pitch 230 feet with a 77 mph exit velocity, giving her team a 1-0 lead. Her nine homers are tied with Castine for the most on the team.
Aside from that offense, though, both teams boasted strong pitching. Emma Mazzarone cruised through the first six frames; she racked up nine strikeouts while surrendering two hits and one run — though it was unearned. Bree Carrico relieved her and needed just five pitches to secure three outs in the seventh and give the Hokies a chance to end the game.
Mazzarone completed two outings against NC State and maintained better control than the weekend prior. Against Duke, the junior walked eight batters in her first game of the weekend and four in the second. Over this series, she accrued one walk on Friday and three on Sunday.
“Mentally, I had a little shift,” Mazzarone said. “Coach Josh [Johnson] has helped me a lot in the bullpen — just trying to get command and working with him. It’s really just a mental thing; it’s not a physical thing is what we figured out. Just trying to find my rhythm and groove and throw strikes.”
NC State starter Rylee Wyman and Wynne Gore each tossed 3 ⅓ innings. Both also limited Tech to three hits and one earned run. D’Amour said Wyman’s pitches moved differently than they did when the Hokies first faced her on Friday. Gore, notably, mixed speeds from as low as 49 mph to the upper 60s. Both arms struggled with consistently hitting the strike zone, but kept their opponent from finding the same offensive success it reached during the first two games of the series.
The fact that Virginia Tech would struggle so much offensively against a pitching staff it had run-ruled the previous two days might not make much sense. That’s just wacky Sunday softball games for you, even though the most recent contest lacked three hours of length, a rain delay or controversial umpiring. And as D’Amour explained it:
“You’re going into the third game of the weekend, and our hitters have seen their pitchers four, five, six times. Our pitchers have seen their hitters four, five, six times,” he said. “And if you go in 2-0, they’ve got nothing to lose and they don’t want to get swept — so they’re gonna play hard. Sundays are just tough.”
Chatfield added a similar perspective.
“I think you just have to forget the first two games. You can’t think about it,” Chatfield said. “We had two run-rule wins, but you can’t assume that’s gonna happen. Everyone is tired and you’ve seen these pitchers and they’ve seen you multiple times. So, you’ve just got to stay aggressive and stay in the fight the whole time.”
Virginia Tech did just that, culminating in the sweep. It will regroup for a few days before heading up to Chestnut Hill, Mass., for a series against Boston College from Friday to Sunday.
Box Score: No. 14 Virginia Tech 2, NC State 1