No. 10 Virginia Tech softball, with its highest rank since 2023, will begin a seven-game homestand against Georgia Tech this weekend.
Virginia Tech’s athletic department set up temporary bleachers at Tech Softball Park for the occasion, which will coincide with spring game weekend in Blacksburg.
The schedule for this weekend’s games is as follows:
- Friday, April 17: 6 p.m. ET, ACC Network
- Saturday, April 18: 7 p.m. ET, ACC Network
- Sunday, April 19: Noon ET, ACC Network Extra
The Hokies (37-6, 11-4 ACC) are ranked No. 10 in the ESPN/USA Softball, D1Softball and Softball America rankings. They are at No. 11 in the NFCA’s poll and No. 19 in the RPI.
The Yellow Jackets (27-22, 8-10) are not in any of the polls, but sit 48th in the RPI.
Virginia Tech has won four consecutive ACC sets, with its only series blemish coming against No. 14 Duke at the start of the conference slate. It defeated 2025 ACC champion Clemson and No. 23 Virginia in the last two weekends, during which the Hokies dropped the first contest but roared back to claim the series.
Georgia Tech boasts the country’s 89th-hardest strength of schedule, while the Hokies are 65th in that regard. The Yellow Jackets have claimed series against Notre Dame and Boston College, while losing at least two of three games against Clemson, Virginia, Duke and Louisville.
Yellow Jackets pitcher Madalyn Johnson transferred from James Madison ahead of the season and has earned ACC Pitcher of the Week honors three times — including each of the past two weeks. The Powhatan native has a 13-10 record with a 3.10 earned run average, racking up 119 strikeouts in 137 ⅔ innings pitched.
Eight Virginia Tech batters saw Johnson in Salem in 2025. During that outing, Johnson allowed one hit — a Rachel Castine single — and no runs in 2 ⅓ innings of relief work in a 4-1 Tech win.
Johnson has picked up a strong plurality of frames for Georgia Tech. Sydnie Watts (62 ⅔ innings) and Kenley Hilleary (58 ⅔) are the Yellow Jackets’ only other arms with more than 50 innings in the circle.
Georgia Tech left fielder Alyssa Willer holds a team-high .403 batting average with 12 home runs. Third baseman Gracyn Tucker has slammed 16 home runs, the most on the team, with 28 extra-base hits. Six Yellow Jackets players — Willer, Tucker, center fielder Holly Medina, right fielder Paige Vukadinovich, catcher Reese Hunter and designated player Raegan Wall— have batting averages over .300.
On paper, Virginia Tech is better than Georgia Tech. The Hokies are tied for the conference’s best batting average (.364), while the Yellow Jackets are seventh (.330). As a team, the Hokies have a 2.58 earned run average and are best in the ACC, while the Yellow Jackets’ 3.76 clip is sixth.
Plus, they’re rolling. Eight of the nine batters in VT’s starting lineup have batting averages over .300, led by third baseman Jordan Lynch (.442), center fielder Addison Foster (.426) and designated player Kylie Aldridge (.408). Lynch and left fielder Nora Abromavage have both crushed 13 home runs. In the circle, Bree Carrico has a conference-best 1.25 ERA and a 12-0 record to go with it, and Emma Mazzarone follows her with a 10-3 record and 2.49 ERA.
But if history is any indication, late-season series against teams Virginia Tech should beat can become problematic. This time last year, the Hokies dropped two of three to a Pitt squad that barely qualified for the ACC Tournament. The year prior, they went to Syracuse and lost two games. Those efforts likely cost them a chance to earn a top-16 seed in the NCAA Tournament and host a regional in Blacksburg.
“I don’t worry about letdowns with this team,” Virginia Tech head coach Pete D’Amour told Tech Sideline after his team defeated Liberty on Wednesday. “We looked at some baseline numbers [on Tuesday] and we’re not seeing any physical drop-offs, which is rare at this point in the year. We’re headed into the part of the season where being mentally locked in is as important as physical ability.”
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