Rochard, Infield Suffocate Evansville, Take No. 8 VT to 7-1

By Ishan Lamba

Staff Writer

February 19, 2022

There were several occasions Saturday afternoon where fans would miss an entire inning if they were to grab a quick ballpark snack. That’s how fast the Hokies were dealing with Evansville.

No. 8 Virginia Tech (7-1) defeated the Purple Aces (5-3), 5-1, on Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

Yesterday, the Hokies, much like day one of the previous invitational, had a pair of one-run results, this time splitting the results, between a 1-0 shutout loss to No. 2 Alabama and a 3-2 walk off winner against Middle Tennessee State.

With both games being a little too close for comfort, coach Pete D’Amour went with the sure-handed Rochard to deliver a beatdown on Evansville.

Sure enough, she did.

After striking out the first five batters, she made the day incredibly uncomfortable for anyone that dared to step up to the plate, inducing several grounders for her infielders to pounce on.

In just five innings pitched, Rochard struck out 11 of the 16 batters faced and allowed just one base hit.

Offensively, Tech got out to a bit of a slow start. With runners on the corners in the first, Bennett went down swinging, and the Hokies were out in order in the second.

However, in the third, VT got its first opening when a crucial mistake was committed: Kelsey Brown got on base.

Brown punished Evansville pitcher Paige McAllister for walking her by promptly stealing second, then racing home, thanks to a Cameron Fagan single into left field.

With Fagan on second, Jayme Bailey advanced her to third with a hit right back to the pitcher. Ally Repko completed the job with a sacrificial groundout, scoring Fagan and taking the Hokies lead to 2-0.

The next inning saw a bit more of the same. After Bre Peck and Mackenzie Lawter established themselves on first and second, Brown was able to thread a single up the middle to score both runners and double Virginia Tech’s lead.

Like the inning before, Brown stole second, then reached home safely on Fagan’s second RBI single of the day.

Ivy Rosenberry also made her season debut, pitching two innings in relief and surrendering just one run off of two base hits, and finishing off the Hokies’ comprehensive win.