No. 14 Virginia Tech Bounces Back from Series Sweep,

Nick Cheshire

February 22, 2021

ATLANTA, Ga. – In the third and final game of its weekend series, No. 14 Virginia Tech trounced No. 13 Florida State on Sunday morning, shutting the Seminoles out 6-0 behind Keely Rochard’s impressive one-hit shutout.

The teams exchanged offensive explosions on Saturday. The Seminoles (7-3, 4-2 ACC) took the first game of the Saturday doubleheader 7-1, but the Hokies (7-2, 4-2 ACC) bounced back by winning the next game 9-1, setting up a decisive game three on Sunday.

Rochard delivered an absolute gem for the Hokies, shutting out a potent Florida State team and holding the Seminoles hitless for the first five innings. Despite walking five batters, she always seemed to have an answer, frequently getting out of jams with timely strikeouts, totaling nine on the day.

The Hokies’ ace is already putting together another strong campaign, starting off the season 5-1 with a microscopic 0.57 ERA, which is on pace to be the lowest of her impressive career by far.

Virginia Tech scored two in the bottom of the fourth on a pair of base hits, including an RBI double from Jayme Bailey and a laser from Darby Trull up the middle. The Hokies added four more in the next frame, fueled by back-to-back home runs, including a three-run bomb over the right field fence from Cameron Fagan.

With the win, Virginia Tech recorded its third straight series victory on the young season and first series win over the Seminoles since 2011.

Virginia Tech is back in action vs. Boston College on Friday, March 5 at 4 p.m. after its game at Radford on Tuesday was canceled due to field conditions. Florida State is off until Friday, Feb. 26 when it returns to Tallahassee for a two-game series against Florida Gulf Coast.