HolidayInnHokie

I am convinced he is the man that will get it done. Brian White might’ve done it on his own, but one of Ryan’s key strategies at FAU was ticketing strategy. This is layup for softball. I just hope it is done in a thoughtful way (which many of you on here have provided great suggestions for). I also hope the softball program reaps the full benefits from season tickets but also from an overall larger athletics budget. I feel like we can almost smell upgrades to TSP. This never would’ve had a prayer of happening under Whit. We know that much.

She’s very athletic (and speedy, which is not always the same thing), has great hand-eye coordination, quick reflexes, and high softball IQ. If she didn’t have all of these, I don’t think she makes the transition from SS to CF nearly as seamlessly as she did. Or hit .415 while going 11-11 on steals. I believe she was also error free in the field. Not sure it relates much to formerly being a slap hitter, although it’s not a bad tool to keep on the belt. We are very lucky to have her at VT. ** Edited by HolidayInnHokie at 6/22/2026, 7:37:21 PM

Seems like kind of a dumpster fire over there right now.

This was always done live during the WCWS in prior years. Wondering if there was some tiff w ESPN or something. Just seems odd that they wouldn’t announce the participants yet, knowing that specific matchups aren’t announced til closer in.

Hard to believe all these ladies we were watching less than a month ago are now playing pro ball. Not much time to rest up and reset for the AUSL.

It’s hard not to be optimistic. And I’m usually not accused of being an overly optimistic person. The ACC schedule will be tougher. But that may help us in the post season. I hope Pete schedules out of conference as aggressively as he can. I know he tried this year and it didn’t work out exactly as expected w Auburn and SC not being great in the end. This is not just to win the SOS/RPI game that is still apparently the end all, be all for the selection committee but also to make us a better team, even if we drop a few games to great teams. Would love to get Bama to Blacksburg and maybe try to play a few Texas teams, if we can get on their schedule, even at their place. Hopefully we get Clearwater too. I know getting onto schedules is the hard part. ** Edited by HolidayInnHokie at 6/9/2026, 1:11:47 PM

Hint, hint.

Hopefully Bree is getting some money, but I’m pretty sure she isn’t getting $1 million. You gotta wonder whether any other team was willing to even come close to what TT gave Canady. Interestingly, Canady’s ERA last season was 1.11 which we can all admit is pretty dang amazing. The incremental money this season did not deliver incremental results, however, at least not on paper. But maybe they win it all and you’ll overlook the statistical “regression.”

Think they just dug down for a little extra when they needed it. Our softball team did it a few weekends ago, trailing Akron 6-1 heading into the final inning. Sometimes the more talented teams just find a way when faced with an early exit in the post season.

They just aren’t willing to pitch him at 80%, which I do not understand. Season is on the line. Renfrow at 80% is better than most of our other pitchers at 110%.

She is one hell of an athlete and a superb Hokie all around.

Then, eliminate the run rule unless both coaches mutually agree to end the game. This translates into more playing time for more players, and should develop pitching depth over time also. It could also produce some epic memorable games. Top 25 teams can definitely score 8+ runs over 2 innings. Finally, get rid of the obstruction and forced slide rules. The game got along just fine before these rules came into being. If you’re a catcher and don’t want to get trucked by a runner heading home…..don’t block the plate. Duh. I might also like to expand the rosters to include 3 or 4 dedicated pitchers who are not allowed to hit, field, or be DP under any circumstances. But I’m probably getting greedy now.

While last weekend wasn't what we hoped for, it doesn't take away an amazing season. Just remember in January we assumed this would be a "reset" season given the loss of Lemley, McMillan, and Peck. Well. So much for that. This group of ladies gave us quite a thrilling season, with many positive surprises. Carrico and Foster being the two most impactful surprises, in my view, but let's not forget about Nora and Gaby, who clearly also surpassed anyone's expectations. And then, the seniors, led by Kylie and Rachel. We've all learned what a truly incredible career Kylie had, given all of the injuries she quietly played through. And it was awesome to see Rachel rebound the way she did and deliver some outstanding fielding at 2B. Let's not forget also that, while Jordan was a little quiet in the post-season, she led the team in BA (.414) and tied for lead in homers, both up from last year. How about Anni getting her average up to nearly .300 but more importantly raising her OBP by more than 100 points to .409, all the while delivering Herculean play at SS. It's always tough to see the season end. It goes by so dang fast. It started a few days before the Super Bowl. That seems like just last week to me. But I think about those series sweeps over SC, GA, Auburn, UNC, to go along with 3 wins vs. UVA and 2 against Duke, just to name a few. Great stuff. To wrap up, congrats and thank you to the ladies for always making us proud. It's such an easy team to root for, really delightful in every way. We'll never fully appreciate all the work they put in during practice and in the classroom, while still delivering a top notch on-field product and terrific personalities that make them all outstanding ambassadors for VT. Congrats and thank you to Coach Pete and his assistants, who just continue to deliver consistently strong results even as players come and go. Lastly, but certainly not least, thank you CHIP (and Bonnie) for everything you do. It's way too much to even begin to list, but just know that we appreciate every moment of it. No other TSL personality does it better when it comes to keeping us connected to all the goings-on of a given VT team, in this case softball. Chip is a truly irreplaceable asset for VT softball (but really VT in general), and all we can hope for is that he will keep at it for many, many more years! Can't wait for fall ball and, before you know it, a new season. It will be interesting. On paper, '27 has loads of potential. But there will be twists and turns, as there always are. The ACC slate will be harder. Probably the early season slate, as well. If we can avoid portal-outs, injuries, and maybe find one or two ladies in the portal (another quality arm, perhaps), it would be hard not to be optimistic. But we shall see. See you all around here as wait for next season!

Definitely should’ve had the bloop that dropped and honestly probably could’ve had the two run RBI triple if he was going full speed from the get-go. He just looked slow on both of those plays.

A win tonight likely punches our ticket. So what do we do? Start a freshman over a well rested starter. Just an awfully bad brain fart. Losing to ND could easily give the committee a reason to keep us out. Remember, for the last few teams, they are looking for reasons to EXCLUDE you, not reasons to INCLUDE you. Makes it easier to justify when they have to go on tv after the bracket reveal.

I wish Pete would call him out. Dare the guy to eject him after allowing LSU to taunt all game long.

Bat flip is an automatic ejection where I’m from. What a cocky piece of garbage she is.

And I’m just talking Game 1 here, let’s win that first. Obviously game circumstances will come into play, but let’s assume for a moment that it is a close game in the 4th or 5th and Bree gets into a jam or shows signs of tiring. Do you bring Mazz in w people on base and risk her walking a run or two in, or do you go to Layton, who has thrown a ton of innings this weekend?

Tough (and very random) break. Her whole left eye was taped over. That really stinks. Very tough break for Oregon.

I mean, I’d still take a bullet for her, she’s still an All American in my book, but Lordy has she struggled recently. 3 for 18 since the start of the ACC tournament. Yes we are seeing better pitching, of course, but the numbers are what they are. Nora is not far behind. What the heck?! I see her swinging at a lot of first pitches, which is totally fine if they’re groovers, but generally they are not, and the contact has been weak. She hasn’t had a lot of “loud” outs. My guess is she’s pressing and it’s just a mental thing. But we need her. Today. Go get ‘em Jordan!

Velo in, velo out. When she grooves one, it usually ends up leaving the yard.

I just don’t trust Mazz, unfortunately, and I’m not convinced that Bree’s arm is totally healthy.

performance vs LSU. Hideous. One of the worst, if not THE worst, game I have ever seen from a D’Amour coached VT squad. Come on ladies, crush it tonight!

I’d argue the ump gave her a little help, too, but the main issue was us.

We were so freaking undisciplined earlier.

I hate to be a pessimist, honestly, but I think we are in deep doo doo. I just don’t get our bats sometimes. Swinging at bad stuff, weak contact, etc. That LSU pitcher is very average, in my mind.

They did not appear confident at all, right from the get go. It honestly felt to me like the crowd got to them. I’m with you Chip, would never have predicted this outcome. I thought we’d beat them, or if we lost it would be by 1 or 2 runs late.

There is research out there on which guys have wider zones than others. Mazz needs a guy with a wide zone.

The first pitch to Mizzelle was EXACTLY the same pitch as Mazz’s final pitch. One was called a ball, one was called a strike. The guy is not consistent.

The batter before last, he stepped away from the plate and started pointing at someone on the VT side.

Lucky she got out of the 1st inning w that DP

Our ladies can hit the hard stuff, they’ve proven that. But they tend to struggle more against consistent junk ballers. That one GT pitcher comes to mind. I hope Mazz has her A game today. I also wish we had the HP ump from yesterday (we won’t, of course). He had a pretty large, if not somewhat inconsistent, zone. That likely would’ve worked in Mazz’s favor.

Further build up her confidence and save Mazz + Bre (if available) for LSU. With any luck, VT wins in 5 innings but I won’t count on that. Feels like a 4-1 type of game to me given how good their pitcher is. Assuming we beat the Jags, that Game 1 vs. LSU obviously becomes enormous. We need to think about what happens if Bree is unavailable or not effective due to injury. Who is our #3 pitcher in that case after Mazz and Avery? Is it Sophie? Seems like it based on her getting some action at Syracuse. We haven’t seen Fisher or Grizzard in months but they are at least dressing out for every game.

That is an adjustment you’d like to see made as soon as it crops up (which was very evident in game 1 of the GT series). But it’s still an issue in the post-season, as we saw vs. FSU in the ACCCG. It makes perfect sense that Zoe’s hand is a bit sore at this point after catching a lot of Mazz’s heaters and even some from Avery. But that doesn’t have anything to do with trying to backhand, stab, or spear an errant pitch; you’re not catching it in your palm anyway. It’s just a matter of technique that has to become second nature. 99% of catchers know that they are going to need to use their body at times to block a wild pitch and they practice it. I just hope this isn’t an issue for us in Baton Rouge.

“Paper” tiger haha

Simply amazing. Not yelling at you here, Nick, but some people still don’t think the NCAA has a disdain for VT. Yet here we are again, less than a month after Bre Warren. As you said, this is the first time they haven’t granted some flexibility in the softball hosting requirements in terms of hotel distance.

Managers say they get a ton of cancellations. For various reasons. Some people double booked, some aspirationally booked, sometimes the kid doesn’t graduate, things happen last minute and the parents can’t make it, etc, etc, etc. The problem is, last minute cancels (even a lot of them) don’t help the NCAA process because you need to show proof of those rooms a month in advance (before the hosting allocations are announced).

Then, this wouldn’t be a problem. And I’m not suggesting they move graduation solely to accommodate softball. I’m suggesting they go back to the “old” (early 2000s) academic calendar when graduation was the 2nd weekend in May. But they felt the need to add a Fall semester break, so graduation got pushed back and here we are. There was really no need to add a formal Fall break. They already get Thanksgiving break.