Rochard no-hits St. Francis in hot start to Blacksburg Regionals

By Ishan Lamba

Staff Writer

May 20, 2022

With a palpable energy in the air, lively tailgates, a snaking line beginning over an hour before first pitch and temporary stands that nearly doubled the capacity of Tech Softball Park, Blacksburg was ready for its first ever postseason action Friday.

For the first time in history, the phrase “Blacksburg Regional” was uttered on a softball broadcast, as Virginia Tech played host to three other postseason teams: Saint Francis (PA), Miami (OH), and Kentucky.

Tech (42-7, 21-2 ACC), the ACC regular season champions, was pitted against the Northeastern Conference tournament champions in Saint Francis (37-17, 20-4 NEC) and the matchup did not disappoint, with the Hokies earning a historic victory — in which starter Keely Rochard pitched her ninth career no-hitter — over the Red Flash, winning 4-0.

Coming off disappointment from the ACC Tournament and facing a team that were winners of 10 straight, the Hokies were looking to get off to a hot start, and they got exactly that from their veteran.

Rochard stepped into the circle with a mission: to regain the momentum she had seemingly lost over the past month.

According to Will Stewart of Tech Sideline, through 2 innings of Virginia Tech’s first ACC tournament game against Syracuse, Rochard had given up 15 hits, 10 earned runs, 19 strikeouts, and 5 home runs on 183 pitches through her previous 10.1 innings pitched.

While she finished the remainder of that game with five scoreless innings, it was clear Rochard needed to work herself back into a groove.

"We really worked on a lot this week in practice, just with me getting my momentum back in my motion so I think that helped a lot," Rochard told ACC Network following her performance.

That performance began with eight swinging strikeouts through nine batters, as Rochard continued to get hitters to bite on riseballs.

While Tech was able to get hitters on base in the first three innings, nobody was able to come around to score.

After Rochard bagged two more strikeouts in the fourth — hitting double-digits after just 12 batters faced — the Hokies got on the board first.

Following two singles and a walk, the bases were loaded with one out. Ally Repko entered to bat the base runners in. Instead, she exuded calmness and her patience earned her a walk to score the first run of the day.

Meanwhile, Saint Francis was able to get out of the jam, retiring the next two batters and limiting the damage.

Another pair of strikeouts highlighted Rochard’s performance in the fifth, and the Hokies doubled their lead, as Emma Ritter worked a leadoff walk and was able to be batted all the way around by her teammates.

Leading 2-0 following five frames, Rochard kept her foot on the gas, with her third inning of the game where she struck out the side.

Tech again doubled its lead in the home half of the sixth.

After Mackenzie Lawter earned a walk and Jayme Bailey singled, Tech had two baserunners with one out.

Cameron Fagan hit into a groundout but was able to advance both base runners, and Ritter hit the ball so crisply past the shortstop that she induced an error to score the two on base.

With the lead extended to 4-0 and Saint Francis’ offense being silenced all day, there was just one objective left: Keely Rochard’s perfect game.

On the very first pitch of the seventh inning, the ball got away from Rochard, striking Mekenzie Saban in the hand and spoiling the perfect game.

While it was no doubt a disappointment to Rochard, who cheekily admitted after the game that she was aware she had a perfect game through six innings, she was able to recover following the hit-by-pitch and subsequent walk, retiring the next three in a row and sealing the no-hitter.

Nearly 2,000 fans rose to their feet to applaud the senior’s 17-strikeout performance, one that sees Tech advance to the winner’s bracket and await the result of the Kentucky-Miami (OH) matchup.

The Hokies defeated Kentucky earlier this season and has the chance to do so again at 3 p.m. Saturday in a game televised on ESPN.