no. 15 virginia tech looks to continue win streak over notre dame

Caleb Wetzel

April 21, 2021

BLACKSBURG — Following this past weekend’s series win over Georgia Tech, No. 15 Virginia Tech (28-7, 19-7 ACC) is currently on a three-game win streak and won every series its played this season.

Notre Dame (22-12, 13-10 ACC) comes to Tech Softball Park looking to change that. The Fighting Irish are hot after a four-game sweep of Virginia this past weekend and carry a five-game win streak into this weekend’s four game series against the Hokies.

Pitching will be a major factor in the series, as both teams come off strong pitching performances. Hokies ace Keely Rochard (20-4) bolsters an astounding 1.10 ERA and 0.76 WHIP, and threw her first no-hitter of the year on Sunday.

Notre Dame starting pitchers Payton Tidd (11-5) and Alexis Holloway (10-6) come off impressive outings as well with each throwing a complete game and recording the win in their last outings.

With that being said, the key to the series will depend on which team can get to the others pitching staff first. The Hokie bats are hot, they’ve scored 22 runs in their last two games, and hit five home runs in the win on Sunday.

Third baseman Kelsey Bennett has been on fire lately for the Hokies, tallying five hits, seven RBIs and two home runs this past series to add to her team-leading total of 10. Second baseman Addy Greene has been hitting extremely well too as of late, batting .571 over the past two weeks.

The Fighting Irish have struggled against good pitching this season as shown in their Florida State series earlier this season in which they only scored one run in all four games. To win the series, they will need to find a way to get runs across against Rochard.

Virginia Tech is 7-25 against Notre Dame all time, and has won just one of the previous ten matchups.

The Hokies and Fighting Irish will face off Friday night at 6 p.m. for game one.

Series Details:

Location: Tech Softball Park in Blacksburg, VA.

First Pitch Times:

Friday at 6 p.m.

Saturday at 12 p.m. & 2 p.m.

Sunday at 12 p.m.