No. 17 Virginia Tech softball, fresh off a choppy few weeks at Tech Softball Park, will travel to Central New York for a three-game set against Syracuse to close the regular season.
The schedule for this weekend’s games is as follows:
• Friday, May 1: 3 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra
• Saturday, May 2: 1 p.m. ET, ACC Network Extra
• Sunday, May 3: Noon ET, ACC Network Extra
The Hokies (41-9, 15-6) secured their third consecutive 40-win season and fourth in the past five years after sweeping North Carolina at home last weekend — though a midweek loss to Liberty preceded it. They sit No. 17 in the ESPN/USA Softball, D1Softball and Softball America rankings and No. 13 in the NFCA poll.
With the ACC Championship in Charlottesville looming next week, Tech enters the final weekend at No. 21 in the RPI, while Syracuse is No. 132.
Tech tripped up through much of its 2026 stretch run; it lost three consecutive games to Georgia Tech and Liberty, marking its longest losing streak in a year. The Hokies then rebounded to sweep the Tar Heels to close out their home slate.
Syracuse (18-23, 4-15 ACC) is Tech’s final regular-season opponent for the second time in three years. In 2024, Virginia Tech dropped two of three games after running into ace pitcher Lindsey Hendrix, from whom the Hokies nabbed just one earned run in two complete games.
Hendrix has since graduated. In her place, Madison Knight and Julianna Verni have tossed the majority of the Orange’s innings, with 105 and 104 ⅔ frames pitched, respectively. Knight has a 9-9 record and a 4.47 earned run average, along with 78 strikeouts and 44 walks. Verni (6-11) has a 5.28 ERA, complemented by a team-high 94 strikeouts and 55 walks.
Offensively, infielder Jadyn Burney’s .321 batting average makes her Syracuse’s only hitter with a clip above the .300 mark. Knight, when she is not pitching, has slammed a team-high 14 home runs and 37 RBI. Overall, the Orange’s .238 team batting average, 33 home runs and 162 runs scored are the worst in the ACC by a wide margin.
The Orange has lost all but one ACC series it has played, including sweeps at the hands of Florida State, Virginia, NC State and Louisville. Its lone conference series win came against Boston College. Syracuse will likely miss the ACC Tournament, barring a successful set against the Hokies and some NC State losses.
The Hokies have the best earned run average (2.90) in the ACC, spearheaded by Emma Mazzarone and Bree Carrico. Mazzarone has a 13-4 record with a 3.17 ERA across 110 ⅓ innings pitched. Carrico has tossed 98 ⅔ frames of her own, culminating in a 13-4 record and ACC-best 1.70 ERA.
They have eight hitters with batting averages above .300, too — led by third baseman Jordan Lynch (.434) and center fielder Addison Foster (.417). Four hitters have slammed at least 10 home runs: left fielder Nora Abromavage (16), Lynch (15), first baseman Michelle Chatfield (13) and second baseman Rachel Castine (11).