Any rational actor would tell you Michelle Chatfield’s home run in the direction of a rainbow in left center field was not an omen. But — a lot of the time — softball isn’t rational.
Tech Softball Park saw a dusting of rain during the early innings of the No. 16 Hokies’ 6-5 win over North Carolina on Friday. Then, the sun came out — prompting the rainbow.
Virginia Tech’s first baseman stepped up to the batter’s box as the first at-bat in the bottom of the fourth, immediately following the rainbow’s appearance. Chatfield sent a 1-0 pitch 246 feet from home plate onto Beamer Way — in the direction of the rainbow — to tie the game at one run apiece.
“Everyone told me [about the rainbow] afterwards,” Chatfield said, reflecting on her homer that she slammed with a 79 mph exit velocity. “I didn’t notice it before, but once I got in the dugout, everyone was laughing about it.”
Later in the fourth inning, Tech catcher Zoe Yaeger blooped a single that fell out of Carolina center fielder Sanaa Thompson’s glove. Then second baseman Rachel Castine doubled to the wall, scoring Yaeger and marking the first time Virginia Tech (39-9, 13-6 ACC) led a game in a week.
The two teams traded blows after that. UNC right fielder Michele Tarpey singled around two runs in the fifth to gain a 3-2 lead. Tech reclaimed its advantage in the sixth; pinch hitter Jordan Bishop was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, then center fielder Addison Foster drew a walk of her own.
Ahead 4-3, Hokies head coach Pete D’Amour installed Emma Mazzarone in the circle after starter Bree Carrico went six innings. Mazzarone struck out Thompson, then walked left fielder Lexie Roberts and first baseman — and Mazzarone’s former roommate — Emily LeGette to put runners on first and second. Third baseman Shelby Barbee singled around Roberts to tie the game at four, then Mazzarone punched out Tarpey for the second out.
With two outs and runners on second and third, Mazzarone delivered a pitch in the dirt. Yaeger dropped to block it, but it deflected in front of home plate. It went down as a wild pitch, scoring pinch runner Sahara Wilson. As a result, the Tar Heels (31-16, 9-13 ACC) entered the bottom of the seventh with a one-run lead.
That’s when Chatfield once again took the box in a crucial spot. She drew a four-pitch walk, then designated player Kylie Aldridge moved Chatfield to second base through a groundout. Tech left fielder Nora Abromavage needed just one swing to end the game; she blasted a home run into the trees, instantly transforming a one-run deficit into a one-run win.
“Honestly, I don’t even remember anything,” Abromavage said minutes after her 15th home run of the season — tied with third baseman Jordan Lynch for the most on the team. “I don’t remember what pitch it was. I don’t even know where it went.”
Back to softball being irrational: Bishop had not accrued a plate appearance since April 11 at Virginia. She had not touched base — aside from pinch running — since a hit on March 18 at Longwood. But in the bottom of the sixth and with her team trailing 3-2, D’Amour pinch hit her for right fielder Gaby Mizelle.
“She’s been swinging well in practice,” D’Amour said. “She kind of fit better the pitch type for that pitcher.”
Tar Heels reliever Kendall Frost’s first pitch to Bishop hit her. Tie game.
Also perhaps irrational: Mazzarone was chucked into relief appearances where she could have easily folded — but she didn’t. The two-way player pinch-hit for shortstop Annika Rohs one batter later. She grounded out for the second out of the inning — ahead of Foster’s walk to take a lead — then walked to the circle to attempt and secure a save. She didn’t end up closing out Carolina’s strong offense, but she held its offense in check enough to result in the win.
Carrico had not started a Friday contest in ACC play, but D’Amour gave her the ball in the top of the first against North Carolina. She finished six innings, allowing three runs, five hits and four walks, while she struck out five batters. Then, D’Amour switched to Mazzarone in the seventh.
“With North Carolina, we’re playing with fire if they see one pitcher too many times,” D’Amour said.
Mazzarone required 36 pitches to rack up three outs. She surrendered two runs and a hit, striking out three batters and walking two.
“North Carolina can smoke the softball — and we gave up five [runs],” D’Amour said. “They threw well. I thought they pitched well tonight.”
To say Friday’s result was the product of a rainbow discredits Virginia Tech’s efforts. It discredits Castine delivering her team its first lead in a week. It discredits Carrico and Mazzarone, whose gutsy efforts in the circle resulted in a win. It discredits Abromavage, whose opposite-field blast ended the two-hour, 33-minute marathon.
It also discredits the players-only meeting the team held on Thursday. Virginia Tech had lost three straight contests for the first time in a year, culminating in a home loss to Liberty on Wednesday. The players gathered ahead of the weekend series, put together what D’Amour called a few good practices and pushed through for a much-needed win on Friday.
“We kind of got not anything bad off our chests, but how we should be playing and going back to how we were playing during the beginning of the season,” Abromavage said. “Maybe we got a little bit into the numbers or who we were playing, but we kind of switched our mindset to playing for each other.”
Tech snapped its longest losing streak of the year on Friday. Ahead of another game on Saturday at 3 p.m. ET (ACC Network) and the season’s final regular-season home game on Sunday, the Hokies have an opportunity to stack wins together.
“Forget about the losses,” Chatfield said. “Forget about everything. Our record is 0-0 to us, no matter what, and go at them like it’s our first game out there — and have fun.”
Box Score: No. 16 Virginia Tech 6, North Carolina 5