No. 3 Hokies knock off No. 14 Tennessee in Knoxville

By Colby Talley

Staff Writer

April 21, 2022

For two teams in different conferences, the history between Virginia Tech and Tennessee Softball is quite extensive.

Having met each other in the postseason six times in the past two decades, both schools have plenty of experience facing each other when the pressure is at its peak.

This would explain why the atmosphere at Sherri Parker Lee Stadium on Wednesday night felt more akin to a Super Regional as opposed to a midweek game as the No. 3 Virginia Tech (33-6, 15-2 Atlantic Coast) knocked off the No. 14 Lady Volunteers (30-13, 11-6 Southeastern Conference), 5-2.

The Hokies wasted no time breaking into the scoring column in the first inning, when designated player Meredith Slaw, currently one of the ACC’s hottest hitters with a batting average now over .400, knocked a single up the middle to drive in Emma Ritter from second base.

Right behind Slaw came freshman third baseman Bre Peck, who launched an off-speed pitch from Vols starter Erin Edmoundson over the wall in left field to bump the Hokies’ lead up to three runs.

On the other side of the ball, freshman Emma Lemley received the start in the circle. Lemley pitched strongly through the first two innings, but issues began to arise in the third when infielder Zaida Puni got the Vols on the scoreboard with an RBI single past third base.

The Vols continued to climb back in the fourth inning with a hard hit double to left field from Kiki Milloy that drove in Rylie West from second.

Both squads ended up pulling their starters from the game in the fifth inning. The Vols turned to Ashley Rogers and the Hokies sent out their bullpen ace in Keely Rochard.

Rochard successfully managed to stem the tide of a Vols comeback, as she pitched the last three innings of the game, only giving up one hit and three walks with no runs in the process.

Meanwhile Rogers pitched well overall through the last 2.2 innings, but a Kelsey Bennett walk followed by a Jayme Bailey home run to left field put the Hokies back up by three in the sixth inning.

With this win, their 11th victory on the season over a ranked opponent, the Hokies have further solidified their reputation as one of the nation’s best teams.

They will be back in action this weekend as they welcome the Louisville Cardinals to Tech Softball Park.