Virginia Tech sweeps Friday doubleheader to open Georgia Classic

Virginia Tech softball swept its doubleheader in the Georgia Classic in Athens on Friday, taking down Seton Hall, 7-2, in game one and trouncing Utah State in game two, 10-3.

Game 1: Virginia Tech 7, Seton Hall 2

The No. 20 Hokies (9-2) entered the Classic losers of two of their previous three games, dropping four spots in the USA Softball poll from No. 16.

After a scoreless first inning, Tech hit the scoreboard first in the second on a Jordan Lynch home run to right field. It was the sophomore third baseman’s second of the season.

The Hokies added another run in the third on a pair of throwing errors by the Pirates (1-4). Sophomore leftfielder Nore Abromavage advanced to third on a poor throw from Pirates catcher Lea Cosinski and scored on another from second baseman Caroline Hobbes.

Tech broke the game open with three runs in the top of the fourth. Senior Kylie Aldrige hit a sacrifice fly to center field to drive home Lyla Blackwell, and in the very next at-bat, catcher Zoe Yaeger poked a single through the left side of the infield to score first baseman Michelle Chatfield and shortstop Annika Rohs.

Seton Hall struck back with a run in the bottom of the fifth; Pirates second baseman Caroline Hobbes’ sacrifice grounder scored centerfielder Angelina Benitez. However, two more runs from the Hokies in the seventh essentially ended the affair.

With two outs and sophomore infielder MJ Abernathy on second base, Lynch sliced a double to left-centerfield, scoring Abernathy. Then, junior outfielder Sarah McNelly singled to centerfield to drive home Lynch.

Pirated third baseman Christina Ginex delivered Seton Hall's second run of the game with one out in the bottom of the inning. But then Hokies pitcher Addyson Fisher struck out the final two batters to end the game with a 7-2 victory for Tech.

Hokies senior and Indiana transfer Sophie Kleiman received the start and claimed the win, improving her record to 2-1 this season. She pitched four innings on Friday, allowing no runs on three hits, striking out one and walking three. Fisher pitched the final three innings, allowing two runs (one earned) on four hits.

The Pirates turned to freshman Sami Wakely in the circle, who fell to 0-2 on the season, giving up two runs (one earned) on four hits in three innings. Sophomore Rachael Schumann and junior Karissa Dupuis pitched two innings apiece to end the game, allowing a combined five runs on four hits.

Game 2: Virginia Tech 10, Utah State 3

Tech fell behind early in the second game of the day; Utah State notched two runs in the top of the first before recording a single out.

Hokies starter Avery Layton walked Aggies (7-4) centerfielder Faith Kroening, who reached second base on a wild pitch from the freshman. Then, on a 2-2 count, senior Grace Matej homered over the right-center wall to put Utah State up 2-0.

Aldridge punched back for the Hokies in the bottom of the frame, doubling to centerfield on a full count to drive home Chatfield, cutting the deficit in half.

Emma Mazzarone’s home run in the bottom of the second knotted the game at two; however, a flurry of offense in the third and fourth innings enabled Tech to pull away.

Rohs flew out to left in the bottom of the third to score junior center fielder Addison Foster and advance second baseman Gaby Mizelle to third. Chatfield and Aldridge walked to load the bases with two outs, where Yaeger doubled to right field on a full count, clearing the bases and putting the Hokies up 6-2.

Lynch led off the fourth with a single and stole second, and Foster followed with a walk. A wild pitch from Aggies senior Emmalynn Brinka advanced them to second and third. On the very next pitch, Mizelle tripled to left field, scoring both and tacking two more runs onto the Hokies’ advantage.

After an infield single from Mazzarone, UMBC transfer Haley Luginbill was called on to pinch hit for Rohs with runners on the corners and nobody out. Luginbill doubled to right on a 2-1 count, scoring Mizelle.

Three batters later, Yaeger drove in her fourth run of the game on a sacrifice fly to right field to give the Hokies a 10-2 lead.

The Aggies tallied a third run in the top of the fifth, but it was too little, too late to climb themselves out of a massive hole, and Tech walked away from Friday with a pair of wins.

Layton was credited with the win, going 4.1 innings and allowing three runs on four hits. Sophomore Bree Carrico handled the final 2.2 innings without allowing a hit, striking out two and walking one.

The Hokies will play another doubleheader on Saturday, facing Seton Hall again at 10:30 a.m. ET and No. 12 Georgia at 3:30 p.m. ET. [Editor’s note: The game against Seton Hall was cancelled due to inclement weather, while the game against Georgia was rescheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.]