keely rochard and no. 19 vt dominate syracuse to sweep weekend series

Nick Cheshire

May 2, 2021

After a season-long five-game losing streak, No. 19 Virginia Tech bounced back by sweeping Syracuse, capped off by an 8-1 victory in game four on Sunday.

The Hokies (32-12, 23-11 ACC) shut down the Orange (19-20, 11-17 ACC) once again, powered by offense early and often and a stellar pitching rotation to complement the continued dominance of Keely Rochard, (24-7, 1.12 ERA).

Just like the previous three contests, Rochard got the nod for Virginia Tech, and she did not disappoint, picking up her fourth win in as many starts.

She no-hit the Orange on Friday, held them to just one run in a five-inning mercy rule victory in game two, and delivered another shutout in game three.

In game four, Rochard was equally impressive, holding Syracuse scoreless in five innings of work before turning it over to the freshman tandem of Mackenzie Osborne and Ivy Rosenberry for the sixth and the seventh inning, respectively.

The potent Virginia Tech offense provided an early cushion and continued to pad the lead as Rochard resumed her domination.

Alexa Romero got the nod for the Orange and was relatively solid apart from a pair of costly home runs that ultimately resulted in her exit in the fifth inning. She went four-plus innings and gave up five runs on four hits.

The fireworks began in the top of the first with Kelsey Bennett, who lifted a blooper into shallow right with two outs, allowing Kelsey Brown and Jayme Bailey both to score, giving the Hokies an early 2-0 lead.

After a two-out walk to Mackenzie Lawter In the top of the fourth, Darby Trull broke through and hit her first long ball of the season, doubling the Tech lead. Cameron Fagan followed her up with a solo shot of her own in the fifth that ended Romero’s afternoon.

The Syracuse offense struggled to convert runners in scoring position all day, stranding four runners in just the first three innings, even after methodical small-ball attempts to get on the board.

With the ACC Tournament fast approaching, Syracuse hosts Clemson next weekend for its final four games of the regular season.

Virginia Tech has just a single game remaining on the regular season slate, a Tuesday night clash against Liberty, who beat the Hokies in a nine-inning thriller last week.