notre dame tops no. 15 virginia tech in nine inning thriller

Nick Cheshire

April 24, 2021

BLACKSBURG — A hazy Saturday morning delivered an epic three-hour battle between Notre Dame and No. 15 Virginia Tech, culminating in another tight Fighting Irish victory, the third straight over the Hokies.

After a pair of close losses in games one and two on Friday, Virginia Tech (28-10, 19-10 ACC) had Notre Dame (25-12, 16-10 ACC) down to its final two outs in the top of the seventh in game three, when pitcher Alexis Holloway took matters into her own hands.

The Hokies took an early lead in the third on a Kelsey Brown bunt that scored Jayme Bailey, and when the throw shot past first base and into the right-field corner, Brown flashed her impressive speed, rounding third and scoring standing up on the same play.

The two teams exchanged jabs until the seventh, including in the sixth when Bailey drove in the third VT run on a single up the middle, but the Hokies were unable to stretch the lead, stranding runners on second and third.

With the 3-2 lead and one out in the seventh, Keely Rochard grooved one right down the middle to Holloway, who helped herself out with a clutch solo home run off the scoreboard in right-center to tie the game at three.

In the top of the ninth, Sarah Genz blasted a towering fly ball into deep left, right down the left field line, that just cleared the fence in fair territory to give Notre Dame a 4-3 edge.

In the bottom of the ninth, Cameron Fagan’s single with one out put the tying run on first, bringing pinch hitter Cana Davis to the plate. Davis lined a rocket right at second baseman Katie Marino, who made the catch and quickly relayed to first to double up Fagan and seal the victory.

Holloway was electric all day, limiting the potent Virginia Tech offense to three runs, maintaining a reasonable deficit until her big seventh-inning game-tying home run.

Her energy was infectious on the mound and at the plate, leading her team offensively and defensively, and eventually shutting down multiple Virginia Tech rallies in extra innings.

Holloway went the distance for Notre Dame, notching her 13^th win of the year against just six losses. Rochard stumbled after four hitless innings and took a rare loss for the second straight day, dropping her to 20-6 on the season.

The Hokies will look to avoid a disappointing sweep of the weekend series and salvage a game four victory on Sunday at noon.