no. 20 virginia tech looks to get back on track against syracuse

Colby Talley

April 30, 2021

No. 20 Virginia Tech (28-12, 19-11 ACC) will travel north to Skytop Softball Stadium this weekend to play its final conference series of the season against Syracuse (19-16, 11-13 ACC).

The Hokies enter this weekend’s series on a five-game losing streak after they were swept in their previous series against Notre Dame and lost their midweek matchup against Liberty. All five of the losses were lost by a deficit of two runs or fewer.

Inversely, the Orange are on the upswing having won four of their last five games. The stretch includes a series win against UVA and a win against Albany earlier this week.

Keys to the Game

The Hokies will need to ensure the bullpen, primarily Keely Rochard, gets back on track in this series. While Rochard’s recent starts haven’t been bad, the home run bug bit her in the seventh inning last Sunday against Notre Dame and on Wednesday against Liberty.

Tech lost both of the aforementioned games in extra innings.

Thankfully for Rochard, the Orange are currently the worst statistical offense in the ACC, where the team ranks last in batting average (.225) and hits (210).

In fact, this poor offense will be the thing the Orange must overcome if they hope to be successful in this series. Infielder Neli Casares-Maher currently leads the team in batting average (.325), slugging percentage (.593) and on-base percentage (.408). The Orange will need to find production outside of Casares-Maher in order to stay competitive this weekend.

Prediction

With the statistics arguing against how both teams have trended as of late, it is hard to say definitively which team will have the upper hand in the series. That being said, I believe the series will end in a split with the Hokies picking up wins in the two games Rochard will most likely start.

Game Times

April 30 | 3 p.m. @ Syracuse

May 1 | 1 p.m. @ Syracuse

May 1 | 3 p.m. @ Syracuse

May 2 | Noon @ Syracuse