McMILLAN WALKS IT OFF TO SWEEP STANFORD

BLACKSBURG – A walk-off home run and tight defense lifted the No. 12 Hokies (28-5, 8-1 ACC) to a 4-3 win over No. 16 Stanford (24-6, 8-4) on Sunday, completing the series sweep.

Stanford started with a hit in the first inning, followed by a steal, and an RBI to quickly get the Cardinal on the board. Starting pitcher Cassie Grizzard shut them down with two strikeouts to end the inning.  

Tech started the bottom of the first with a walk and a stolen base. However, it was not able to keep that momentum, and finished the first inning with a 1-0 score.  

In the top of the second, Grizzard held Stanford to an inning that featured three infield ground outs and one walk.  

Tech saw struggles with getting under the ball—apparent early in the game with three fly-outs in the first two innings. It also saw struggles hitting against Stanford’s freshman starter Alyssa Houston, who tallied four strikeouts in the first three frames. 

Grizzard collected another strike-out to start the third inning, however Stanford quickly got two hits from a bunt and a knocked single to right field. Senior ace Emma Lemley came in as relief. 

After a wild pitch, allowing the Cardinals to steal home, Tech quickly closed the inning.  

Despite a double from Lyla Blackwell, Tech continued to struggle to get on the board against Houston. 

Lemley then shut down Stanford—forcing a ground out and a fly out to start the fourth inning. A double from the Cardinals put them back into scoring position, however a clutch throw from center fielder Bre Peck held Stanford to a scoreless inning.  

The bottom of the fourth was when the Hokies’ bats came alive. Jordan Lynch started the game with a single, followed by a homerun from Kylie Aldridge, tying the game, 2-2. 

Despite Stanford changing pitchers, the Hokies kept going. Two walks for Tech put their runners in ideal scoring position. Cori McMillan singled to right field for a two-RBI single. The hokies ended the inning with a 4-2 lead. 

Stanford tallied three singles against Lemley at the top of the fifth, scoring from a bases loaded single. Tech then put in sophomore Emma Mazzarone to end the game. The Cardinals scored on a wild pitch, and scored again from a single to left field. Stanford was then up 5-4.  

That was until Rachel Castine hit a clutch home run for Virginia Tech to tie the game 5-5 at the end of the fifth inning.  

And then in the bottom of the seventh inning, with Tech down 6-5, McMillan hit a walk-off home run to center field, giving the Hokies a win and a series sweep of a top-20 ranked opponent. 

McMillan led the team with two hits and three RBI’s. Aldridge had one hit and two RBI’s. Tech’s pitching staff tallied six strikeouts with 11 hits allowed.  

Virginia Tech plays again at home against No. 24 Liberty on Wednesday, April 2 at 6 p.m. ET.