virginia tech opens tournament run with win over byu

Colby Talley

May 21, 2021

It only took five pitches for No. 2-seeded Virginia Tech and its fans to realize what the NCAA tournament had in store for them in the Tempe, Az Regional.

Rylee Jensen, the left fielder for No. 3-seeded BYU (36-16, 11-1 WCC), swung at a pitch from ACC pitcher of the year Keely Rochard and sent it flying past the fence in left-center field.

The Hokies (34-13, 23-11 ACC) had given their opponent a lead before they even had a chance to get their first out.

In the end, the Cougars’ lead would be short-lived as Tech went on to win Thursday's first round matchup, 5-2.

The Hokies responded to the Jensen homerun in the bottom of the second when infielder Kelsey Bennett sent one of her own soaring to center field to tie the game at one.

In the third, Bennett strolled to the dish once more with runners on the corners. She gave the Hokies the lead when she drove a 3-2 pitch into left field, scoring Maija Louko with a single to left field, and moved first baseman Jayme Bailey to third.

Both Bailey and Bennett would score on a bunt single from second baseman Addy Greene and a sacrifice fly from right fielder Emma Ritter. The Hokies put up three runs, and led 4-1 by the end of the third. .

The Hokies added an insurance run in the bottom of the fourth when Bailey drove in designated player Alexa Milius with an RBI double.

The Hokies’ offensive performance was impressive in its own right since all five runs were scored against Cougars ace Autumn Moffat-Korth, who had been named WCC pitcher of the year.

Moffat-Korth finished the game with just one strikeout, while giving up 12 hits in 5 ⅔ innings of work.

Another factor that went in the Hokies’ favor was the performance of Rochard who rebounded nicely after the Jensen homerun.

Rochard finished her 28^th complete game to go along with seven strikeouts and two earned runs on three hits.

Rochard’s biggest moment of the night came when BYU loaded the bases in the seventh.

After an RBI fielder’s choice from Cougars’ right fielder HannahJo Peterson brought the tying run to the plate with two outs, Rochard slammed the door on the next batter. She forced Violet Zavodink to pop out into foul territory to end the game.

With the win, the Hokies go on to play Arizona St. in the winner’s bracket while BYU will meet Southern Illinois in the loser’s bracket. Those games will take place on Friday at 4 P.M. and 6:30 P.M., respectively.