Annika Rohs and the Hokies scored six runs in the seventh inning to keep their season alive. (Virginia Tech athletics)

When he is coaching, Pete D’Amour is a stoic man. Virginia Tech’s head coach is never too high, never too low. 

He has a dry sense of humor, which exhibits itself from time to time in interviews. And after the Hokies somehow escaped with a 7-6 win over Akron on Saturday to extend their time in the Baton Rouge Regional for another day, he first gave credit to his opponent. Then, he let himself be a bit facetious while addressing media members gathered on Zoom.

“I’d like to apologize for the quick pivot you guys are going to have to ask,” D’Amour said, the hint of a smile crossing his face. “I know the line of questioning would be a little different going into the seventh inning.”

That’s because the Hokies (48-11), in their second game of the day, entered the top of the seventh inning trailing the Zips (35-25) by five runs. Akron pitcher Madie Jamrog — who pitched 15 consecutive innings across two games with mere minutes to rest in between — held Tech’s lineup to four hits and a run during the first six frames, while her offense built a 6-1 lead. Then, the Hokies came back.

To start the seventh, Virginia Tech designated player Kylie Aldridge roped a line-drive double in center field, hit the team’s flamingo double celebration after sliding into second base and gave her team some life. First baseman Michelle Chatfield smacked Jamrog’s next pitch over the center-field fence to cut Akron’s lead to 6-3. 

“We thought, ‘We’re not done yet,’” Chatfield said. “This isn’t our last game, we don’t want it to be our last game, so we’ll see what we can do.”

Second baseman Rachel Castine singled. Catcher Zoe Yaeger hit a long fly ball to center field, which Akron center fielder Meagan Lee had in her glove before it fell out. Lee picked up the ball and chucked it to second base, which seemingly beat Castine at second base for a force out — though the second-base umpire and replay crew in Pittsburgh thought otherwise. Either way, it put runners on first and second with no outs. Then came three consecutive RBI hits.

Hokies right fielder Gaby Mizelle dribbled a single up the middle, bringing around Castine. Shortstop Annika Rohs chopped a single over the third baseman, scoring Jordan Bishop — who pinch ran for Yaeger — and flipping the order. 

Finally, Tech center fielder Addison Foster smoked a line drive to the warning track in left-center field. Rohs and Mizelle touched home plate, and after trailing 6-1, the Hokies led 7-6.

“We just went in with the mindset, like, we can come back against any team, and it just happened that it took us till the seventh, which is OK, because we all came together and really fought for each other in that last inning,” Rohs said. “It wasn’t just one person. We needed the whole team, and everyone stepped up.”

Entering the seventh inning, the Hokies were three outs away from their season ending. They lost to No. 16 LSU 8-0 earlier that day and were banished to the elimination game. A win in Saturday’s finale kept their season alive.

Now, they need two wins over LSU to advance to a super regional on Sunday. Losing to Akron would have sent them back to Blacksburg before Championship Sunday for the second time in three seasons.

When Aldridge stepped to the plate in the final frame, Virginia Tech was 5-for-41 in nearly two games on the day, contributing to its first shutout loss in a year during the matinee and the five-run disadvantage in the evening game. In the seventh, it went 7-for-10 with six runs.

Ahead of the Hokies’ contest against the Zips, teams were 4-858 when trailing by at least four runs entering the seventh inning of NCAA Tournament games. Make that 5-858 after Tech won.

And it wasn’t even the most dramatic comeback of the day. Texas Tech was losing 8-0 against Ole Miss with just one out remaining in the game. The Red Raiders tied the game with a grand slam, then eventually won it 10-9 in eight innings — the second team to overcome a four-run deficit in the seventh on Saturday. That game took place between Virginia Tech’s two games on Saturday. The Hokies knew the result, and D’Amour mentioned it before Aldridge led off the seventh.

“How many runs did Texas Tech score in the seventh?” D’Amour rhetorically asked the team. “They all knew — and I said: ‘That’s easy. Go ahead and let it fly and score some runs.’”

In the first game of the day, LSU arm Cece Cellura pushed the Tigers (39-17) into the regional final. She allowed just two hits and a walk during her six frames of LSU’s run-rule win. Notably, she only struck out three batters; Tech flew out eight times and grounded out six more. Plus, Virginia Tech hit 0-for-10 with runners on base.

“[Cellura] actually just pounded the zone,” Virginia Tech third baseman Jordan Lynch said. “She did a really good job. … She threw a lot of strikes. We did hit balls hard right at people.”

Emma Mazzarone started the game against LSU and only completed one full inning, plus five batters in the second. She walked five of the nine batters she faced and left with Tech in a three-run hole. Avery Layton cleaned up the next 4 ⅓ frames, surrendering five hits, four runs — three earned — and three walks. Sophie Kleiman retrieved one more out in the sixth inning before the Tigers completed their run-rule effort.

“I know Mazz wants that one back,” Yaeger said between games. “She’ll get her opportunity tomorrow and she’ll be ready.”

Mazzarone had tossed just 31 pitches in the previous game, so D’Amour started her for the nightcap. In her 3 ⅓ innings of work, she walked three more batters while allowing five hits and four runs — though only two of them were earned. Bree Carrico made her first appearance of the day, allowing two more runs over the course of 1 ⅔ frames.

“Might have been a mental thing. I don’t know,” D’Amour said about Mazzarone. “Maybe the game got too fast for her. Maybe the crowd. But it really doesn’t matter. She’s thrown well all year in environments similar to this. So, you’ve just got to shake it off.”

Then, D’Amour instituted Layton for the final two frames. She sustained a bases-loaded, no-out jam against Akron in the bottom of the sixth. After that, she struck out three straight batters, limiting the deficit to five runs and prompting the six-run comeback. 

Then in the seventh, she struck out two batters, allowed a single to Rohs at shortstop and induced a flyout to Mizelle in right field, which ended the game. Layton earned the win, playing a crucial part in extending her team’s season another day.

“We all had [Layton’s] back,” Rohs said. “Just do you, trust your stuff, we’ve got your back if you need it. When you strike out five in a row, we’re cheering for her, and we’ve got her back. And it’s amazing to see how she’s grown through her collegiate career so far.”

Because of the chaotic ending necessitating a quick pivot — as D’Amour called it — on many fronts, Virginia Tech’s season didn’t end on Saturday when it very possibly could have. The Hokies must regroup against an LSU squad that shut them out and put their season on the brink. 

Virginia Tech needs two wins against LSU to advance to a super regional — likely in Tuscaloosa against No. 1 Alabama; the Tigers need just one. The first game will take place on Sunday at 2 p.m. ET on ESPN+.

“We got to Sunday,” D’Amour said. “So, when you get to Sunday, you wake up and see how you feel and try to continue what we did that seventh inning into the first inning tomorrow. Our kids are in a good spot. They know it’s opening day mindset. We’ve got to win the first. But you don’t think about winning the first, you think about playing well at the start of the game. 

“So, we’ll get rest tonight and get ready to play tomorrow.”

Box Score: No. 18 LSU 8, No. 14 Virginia Tech 0 (6 innings) 
Box Score: No. 14 Virginia Tech 7, Akron 6