TECH SOFTBALL SECURES SERIES WIN OVER NOTRE DAME

BLACKSBURG – No. 12 Virginia Tech (35-5, 13-1 ACC) took both games of the double header against Notre Dame (19-23-1, 6-11) Saturday afternoon at Tech Softball Park, winning 5-0 in game one and 12-4 in game two.

In game one, Tech Head Coach Pete D’Amour handed the ball to his ace Emma Lemley. Lemley started off strong, retiring the first three batters of the game.

In the bottom of the first, Notre Dame’s pitcher Brianne Weiss struggled with her command. The first two batters, Cori McMillan and Michelle Chatfield walked on four pitches each and then Rachel Castine was hit in the head to load the bases. Castine did not get hurt and jogged to first.

Weiss settled down after a mound visit and got Aldridge and Bre Peck to strike out. Jordan Lynch came to the plate with two outs and rocketed a single into center field, scoring McMillan and Chatfield to give Tech a 2-0 lead after one inning.

The Irish struggled to get any traffic on base throughout the entirety of the game. Lemley did run into some trouble in the third, however. 

After a bloop single into center by Jane Kronenberger, Emily Tran came up and dribbled a weak grounder back to Lemley who has trouble fielding the ball. Lemley was eventually able to get a grip on the ball, but it was not in time to get the speedy Tran out at first. The Irish were unable to capitalize on the error as Lemley struck out the next batter, Caroline O’Brien to end the inning.

Weiss was able to settle in following a poor first inning. She did allow some baserunners, but kept Tech off the scoreboard until she was pulled before the bottom of the fifth inning for Kami Kamzik.

Kamzik retired the first batter, Castine, on a ground out to first to start the inning. Kylie Aldridge worked a walk but was thrown out trying to steal second. Bre Peck came to the plate with no one on base and was able to work a tough walk. Jordan Lynch, who already had two RBIs, doubled to right-center and Peck scored from first, giving Tech a three run lead.

Now in the sixth inning, the Irish desperately looked to get any sort of baserunner aboard. After a groundout by Tran, O’Brien came to the plate and dribbled a ball back to Lemley and was called out at first initially, but after review she was ruled safe.

Looking to capitalize on the break, Addison Amaral hit a mile-high fly out to Lyla Blackwell in left field, followed by a Kaia Cortes pop up to Zoe Yaeger behind home plate. The Irish had no answer for Lemley.

“Just being dialed in pitch-to-pitch, and just trusting my spin and trusting my defense behind me that if needed go out of the zone,” said Lemley.

The Hokies looked to add some insurance and got just that. After Kamzik retired the first two batters in the sixth, Chatfield rocketed a single into left and that was followed by a Castine line drive homerun just over the center field wall to give the Hokies a 5-0 lead.

“[Kamzik] beat me the first at bat,” Castine said. “Just tried to drive the ball up the middle, and that’s what I did.”

Lemley went out in the seventh to try and finish the complete game. The lead off batter Rachel Allen got hit, but Lemley retired the next two she faced. Jane Kronenberger continued the game with a single to left, but Lemley struck out pinch hitter Paige Cowley to secure the shut out victory.

Game one marked the 18th shutout of the season for Tech.

“When the other team doesn’t score, that makes the offense’s job a little bit easier,” D'Amour said.

On to game two, and the Irish were able to put some pressure on the new pitcher Emma Mazzarone. After striking out Tran to start the game, O’Brien and Amaral followed with back-to-back singles. However, Mazzarone closed the door on that offensive surge, striking out Cortes and Rachel Allen to end the first inning.

The Hokies carried their offensive momentum from game one into game two. McMillan led off the inning with a single and stole second base. With Chatfield at the plate, she hit a high pop-up in the infield that pitcher Micaela Kastor called for but couldn’t secure after it hit her glove. Castine followed with a single to load the bases for Aldridge.

Aldridge hit it to the warning track, which was more than deep enough for McMillan to tag up and score. The Hokies continued the small ball with Peck dribbled one to the short stop, allowing Chatfield to score.

The Irish finally ended their scoring drought with a lead off home run by Anna Holloway to begin the second inning. Mazzarone did not lose confidence, as she struck out the next three batters in order. Through two innings, Mazzarone struck out five batters.

“Definitely competed,” D’Amour said. “Threw strikes, she got better as the game went on. Got a little sloppy at the end, but battled through it.”

Kastor, now with run support, got the first two batters Yaeger and Blackwell out to start the second. But a four-pitch walk by Annika Rohs turned the lineup over for McMillan, who hit a long home run to extend the lead to 4-1.

The Irish kept the pressure up, loading the bases with just one out in the top of the third. Allen hit a bullet into center, allowing O’Brien to score. Amaral was waved around third but was thrown out at the plate by a great throw from Peck. Mazzarone with multiple runners on base, struck out Holloway to end the inning, only allowing one run to score.

A scary moment happened in the bottom half of the frame. With two runners on, Yaeger hit it hard to center field and Kronenberger made a great diving effort but was unable to secure the ball, allowing two more runs to score. Kronenberger, was unable to get up for a few minutes and team doctors went and checked on her. She was eventually able to continue in the game.

Kronenberger, still feeling the effects of the apparent leg injury, led off the top of the fourth and smacked a line drive to center but was robbed of a home run by a leaping Peck.

“She’s done that since she’s played center field,” D’Amour said. “You kind of get spoiled with how many plays she makes.”

A strange sequence happened later in the inning with O’Brien coming up with two runners on base. She singled to center field, Peck fielded the ball looking to throw out another runner, but the throw was high hitting Yaeger’s glove and bounced out of play, allowing another runner to score and O’Brien moved to third.

Mazzarone then threw a wild pitch that hit the back stop. Yaeger made a nice play to get the ball back to Mazzarone to tag out O’Brien, who was trying to score. The play was under review, but the call was confirmed.

The Hokies offense really got going in the bottom of the fifth. After Peck struck out, Lynch and Yaeger both worked walks. Blackwell stepped to the plate and hit a line drive right at the first base bag for an RBI single. Rohs then hit it hard to left just over a reaching Tran, allowing Yaeger to score. McMillan then worked a walk to load the bases. Kastor was pulled for Alexis Laudenslager to try and finish the inning.

Unfortunately for her, she walked in a run to start her outing, giving Tech a 10-4 lead. Aldridge, with the chance to walk it off, did just that, smacking a two-RBI single to end the game in five innings, 12-4.

With that win, the Hokies extend their winning streak to 16 games, which is now the longest in the country. They also won their fifth straight ACC series.

The series finale between the Hokies and the Irish will be on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. ET. Coverage for the game will be on ACC Network.